Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) based on codeblock groups in new radio systems

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of a User Equipment (UE), Generation Node-B (gNB) and methods of communication are disclosed herein. The UE may receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) that schedules a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in a slot, and on a component carrier (CC) of a plurality of CCs. The PDCCH may include a total downlink assignment index (DAI) and a counter DAI for hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback of the PDSCH. The total DAI may indicate a total number of pairs of CCs and slots for the HARQ-ACK feedback. The UE may encode the HARQ-ACK feedback to include a bit that indicates whether the PDSCH is successfully decoded. A size of the HARQ-ACK feedback may be based on the total DAI, and a position of the bit may be based on the counter DAI.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims priority under 35 USC 119(e) to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 62/556,964, filed Sep. 11, 2017, and to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/560,536, filed Sep. 19, 2017,and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/566,988, filedOct. 2, 2017, and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.62/568,667, filed Oct. 5, 2017, all of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments pertain to wireless communications. Some embodiments relateto cellular communication networks including 3GPP (Third GenerationPartnership Project) networks, 3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks,3GPP LTE-A (LTE Advanced) networks, New Radio (NR) networks, and 5Gnetworks, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in thisrespect. Some embodiments relate to hybrid automatic repeat request(HARQ) techniques, including HARQ techniques based on codeblock groups.Some embodiments relate to grant free operation, including grant freeuplink non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA).

BACKGROUND

Base stations and mobile devices operating in a cellular network mayexchange data. As demand for mobile services and high data ratesincreases, various challenges related to reliability and capacity mayarise. In an example scenario, a large number of users may demand accessto the network, which may result in an increase in overhead and acorresponding decrease in overall efficiency. In another examplescenario, a target latency for a user and/or application may berelatively low, and it may be challenging for the system to deliver inan efficient manner. Accordingly, there is a general need for methodsand systems to implement communication between the base station and themobile devices in these and other scenarios.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a functional diagram of an example network in accordance withsome embodiments;

FIG. 1B is a functional diagram of another example network in accordancewith some embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example machine in accordancewith some embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates a user device in accordance with some aspects;

FIG. 4 illustrates a base station in accordance with some aspects;

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary communication circuitry according tosome aspects;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a radio frame structure in accordancewith some embodiments;

FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B illustrate example frequency resources in accordancewith some embodiments;

FIG. 8 illustrates the operation of a method of communication inaccordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 9 illustrates the operation of another method of communication inaccordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 10 illustrates example ACK/NACK modes in accordance with someembodiments;

FIG. 11 illustrates an example hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)technique in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 12 illustrates another example HARQ technique in accordance withsome embodiments;

FIG. 13 illustrates another example HARQ technique in accordance withsome embodiments;

FIG. 14 illustrates another example HARQ technique in accordance withsome embodiments;

FIG. 15 illustrates examples of grant-free NOMA transmission inaccordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 16 illustrates additional examples of grant-free NOMA transmissionin accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 17 illustrates another example of grant-free NOMA transmission inaccordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 18 illustrates example elements that may be transmitted inaccordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 19A, FIG. 19B, FIG. 19C, and FIG. 19D illustrate example timeresources and frequency resources in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 20A and FIG. 20B illustrate additional examples of time resourcesand frequency resources in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 21 illustrates an example of usage of multi-access (MA) signaturesin accordance with some embodiments; and

FIG. 22A, FIG. 22B, and FIG. 22C illustrate example resource pools inaccordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustratespecific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practicethem. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical,process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodimentsmay be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments.Embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalentsof those claims.

FIG. 1A is a functional diagram of an example network in accordance withsome embodiments. FIG. 1B is a functional diagram of another examplenetwork in accordance with some embodiments. In references herein, “FIG.1” may include FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B. In some embodiments, the network 100may be a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network. In someembodiments, the network 150 may be a 3GPP network. In a non-limitingexample, the network 150 may be a new radio (NR) network. It should benoted that embodiments are not limited to usage of 3GPP networks,however, as other networks may be used in some embodiments. As anexample, a Fifth Generation (5G) network may be used in some cases. Asanother example, a New Radio (NR) network may be used in some cases. Asanother example, a wireless local area network (WLAN) may be used insome cases. Embodiments are not limited to these example networks,however, as other networks may be used in some embodiments. In someembodiments, a network may include one or more components shown in FIG.1A. Some embodiments may not necessarily include all components shown inFIG. 1A, and some embodiments may include additional components notshown in FIG. 1A. In some embodiments, a network may include one or morecomponents shown in FIG. 1B. Some embodiments may not necessarilyinclude all components shown in FIG. 1B, and some embodiments mayinclude additional components not shown in FIG. 1B. In some embodiments,a network may include one or more components shown in FIG. 1A and one ormore components shown in FIG. 1B. In some embodiments, a network mayinclude one or more components shown in FIG. 1A, one or more componentsshown in FIG. 1B and one or more additional components.

The network 100 may comprise a radio access network (RAN) 101 and thecore network 120 (e.g., shown as an evolved packet core (EPC)) coupledtogether through an S1 interface 115. For convenience and brevity sake,only a portion of the core network 120, as well as the RAN 101, isshown. In a non-limiting example, the RAN 101 may be an evolveduniversal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN). In anothernon-limiting example, the RAN 101 may include one or more components ofa New Radio (NR) network. In another non-limiting example, the RAN 101may include one or more components of an E-UTRAN and one or morecomponents of another network (including but not limited to an NRnetwork).

The core network 120 may include a mobility management entity (MME) 122,a serving gateway (serving GW) 124, and packet data network gateway (PDNGW) 126. In some embodiments, the network 100 may include (and/orsupport) one or more Evolved Node-B's (eNBs) 104 (which may operate asbase stations) for communicating with User Equipment (UE) 102. The eNBs104 may include macro eNBs and low power (LP) eNBs, in some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the network 100 may include (and/or support) one ormore Next Generation Node-B's (gNBs) 105. In some embodiments, one ormore eNBs 104 may be configured to operate as gNBs 105. Embodiments arenot limited to the number of eNBs 104 shown in FIG. 1A or to the numberof gNBs 105 shown in FIG. 1A. In some embodiments, the network 100 maynot necessarily include eNBs 104. Embodiments are also not limited tothe connectivity of components shown in FIG. 1A.

It should be noted that references herein to an eNB 104 or to a gNB 105are not limiting. In some embodiments, one or more operations, methodsand/or techniques (such as those described herein) may be practiced by abase station component (and/or other component), including but notlimited to a gNB 105, an eNB 104, a serving cell, a transmit receivepoint (TRP) and/or other. In some embodiments, the base stationcomponent may be configured to operate in accordance with a New Radio(NR) protocol and/or NR standard, although the scope of embodiments isnot limited in this respect. In some embodiments, the base stationcomponent may be configured to operate in accordance with a FifthGeneration (5G) protocol and/or 5G standard, although the scope ofembodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, one or more of the UEs 102, gNBs 105, and/or eNBs104 may be configured to operate in accordance with an NR protocoland/or NR techniques. References to a UE 102, eNB 104, and/or gNB 105 aspart of descriptions herein are not limiting. For instance, descriptionsof one or more operations, techniques and/or methods practiced by a gNB105 are not limiting. In some embodiments, one or more of thoseoperations, techniques and/or methods may be practiced by an eNB 104and/or other base station component.

In some embodiments, the UE 102 may transmit signals (data, controland/or other) to the gNB 105, and may receive signals (data, controland/or other) from the gNB 105. In some embodiments, the UE 102 maytransmit signals (data, control and/or other) to the eNB 104, and mayreceive signals (data, control and/or other) from the eNB 104. Theseembodiments will be described in more detail below.

The MME 122 is similar in function to the control plane of legacyServing GPRS Support Nodes (SGSN). The MME 122 manages mobility aspectsin access such as gateway selection and tracking area list management.The serving GW 124 terminates the interface toward the RAN 101, androutes data packets between the RAN 101 and the core network 120. Inaddition, it may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-eNBhandovers and also may provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Otherresponsibilities may include lawful intercept, charging, and some policyenforcement. The serving GW 124 and the MME 122 may be implemented inone physical node or separate physical nodes. The PDN GW 126 terminatesan SGi interface toward the packet data network (PDN). The PDN GW 126routes data packets between the EPC 120 and the external PDN, and may bea key node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. It mayalso provide an anchor point for mobility with non-LTE accesses. Theexternal PDN can be any kind of IP network, as well as an IP MultimediaSubsystem (IMS) domain. The PDN GW 126 and the serving GW 124 may beimplemented in one physical node or separated physical nodes.

In some embodiments, the eNBs 104 (macro and micro) terminate the airinterface protocol and may be the first point of contact for a UE 102.In some embodiments, an eNB 104 may fulfill various logical functionsfor the network 100, including but not limited to RNC (radio networkcontroller functions) such as radio bearer management, uplink anddownlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling,and mobility management.

In some embodiments, UEs 102 may be configured to communicate OrthogonalFrequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals with an eNB104 and/or gNB 105 over a multicarrier communication channel inaccordance with an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA)communication technique. In some embodiments, eNBs 104 and/or gNBs 105may be configured to communicate OFDM communication signals with a UE102 over a multicarrier communication channel in accordance with anOFDMA communication technique. The OFDM signals may comprise a pluralityof orthogonal subcarriers.

The S1 interface 115 is the interface that separates the RAN 101 and theEPC 120. It may be split into two parts: the S1-U, which carries trafficdata between the eNBs 104 and the serving GW 124, and the S1-MME, whichis a signaling interface between the eNBs 104 and the MME 122. The X2interface is the interface between eNBs 104. The X2 interface comprisestwo parts, the X2-C and X2-U. The X2-C is the control plane interfacebetween the eNBs 104, while the X2-U is the user plane interface betweenthe eNBs 104.

In some embodiments, similar functionality and/or connectivity describedfor the eNB 104 may be used for the gNB 105, although the scope ofembodiments is not limited in this respect. In a non-limiting example,the S1 interface 115 (and/or similar interface) may be split into twoparts: the S1-U, which carries traffic data between the gNBs 105 and theserving GW 124, and the S1-MME, which is a signaling interface betweenthe gNBs 104 and the MME 122. The X2 interface (and/or similarinterface) may enable communication between eNBs 104, communicationbetween gNBs 105 and/or communication between an eNB 104 and a gNB 105.

With cellular networks, LP cells are typically used to extend coverageto indoor areas where outdoor signals do not reach well, or to addnetwork capacity in areas with very dense phone usage, such as trainstations. As used herein, the term low power (LP) eNB refers to anysuitable relatively low power eNB for implementing a narrower cell(narrower than a macro cell) such as a femtocell, a picocell, or a microcell. Femtocell eNBs are typically provided by a mobile network operatorto its residential or enterprise customers. A femtocell is typically thesize of a residential gateway or smaller and generally connects to theuser's broadband line. Once plugged in, the femtocell connects to themobile operator's mobile network and provides extra coverage in a rangeof typically 30 to 50 meters for residential femtocells. Thus, a LP eNBmight be a femtocell eNB since it is coupled through the PDN GW 126.Similarly, a picocell is a wireless communication system typicallycovering a small area, such as in-building (offices, shopping malls,train stations, etc.), or more recently in-aircraft. A picocell eNB cangenerally connect through the X2 link to another eNB such as a macro eNBthrough its base station controller (BSC) functionality. Thus, LP eNBmay be implemented with a picocell eNB since it is coupled to a macroeNB via an X2 interface. Picocell eNBs or other LP eNBs may incorporatesome or all functionality of a macro eNB. In some cases, this may bereferred to as an access point base station or enterprise femtocell. Insome embodiments, various types of gNBs 105 may be used, including butnot limited to one or more of the eNB types described above.

In some embodiments, the network 150 may include one or more componentsconfigured to operate in accordance with one or more 3GPP standards,including but not limited to an NR standard. The network 150 shown inFIG. 1B may include a next generation RAN (NG-RAN) 155, which mayinclude one or more gNBs 105. In some embodiments, the network 150 mayinclude the E-UTRAN 160, which may include one or more eNBs. The E-UTRAN160 may be similar to the RAN 101 described herein, although the scopeof embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the network 150 may include the MME 165. The MME165 may be similar to the MME 122 described herein, although the scopeof embodiments is not limited in this respect. The MME 165 may performone or more operations or functionality similar to those describedherein regarding the MME 122, although the scope of embodiments is notlimited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the network 150 may include the SGW 170. The SGW170 may be similar to the SGW 124 described herein, although the scopeof embodiments is not limited in this respect. The SGW 170 may performone or more operations or functionality similar to those describedherein regarding the SGW 124, although the scope of embodiments is notlimited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the network 150 may include component(s) and/ormodule(s) for functionality for a user plane function (UPF) and userplane functionality for PGW (PGW-U), as indicated by 175. In someembodiments, the network 150 may include component(s) and/or module(s)for functionality for a session management function (SMF) and controlplane functionality for PGW (PGW-C), as indicated by 180. In someembodiments, the component(s) and/or module(s) indicated by 175 and/or180 may be similar to the PGW 126 described herein, although the scopeof embodiments is not limited in this respect. The component(s) and/ormodule(s) indicated by 175 and/or 180 may perform one or more operationsor functionality similar to those described herein regarding the PGW126, although the scope of embodiments is not limited in this respect.One or both of the components 170, 172 may perform at least a portion ofthe functionality described herein for the PGW 126, although the scopeof embodiments is not limited in this respect.

Embodiments are not limited to the number or type of components shown inFIG. 1B. Embodiments are also not limited to the connectivity ofcomponents shown in FIG. 1B.

In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid may be used for downlinktransmissions from an eNB 104 to a UE 102, while uplink transmissionfrom the UE 102 to the eNB 104 may utilize similar techniques. In someembodiments, a downlink resource grid may be used for downlinktransmissions from a gNB 105 to a UE 102, while uplink transmission fromthe UE 102 to the gNB 105 may utilize similar techniques. The grid maybe a time-frequency grid, called a resource grid or time-frequencyresource grid, which is the physical resource in the downlink in eachslot. Such a time-frequency plane representation is a common practicefor OFDM systems, which makes it intuitive for radio resourceallocation. Each column and each row of the resource grid correspond toone OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration ofthe resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one slot in a radioframe. The smallest time-frequency unit in a resource grid is denoted asa resource element (RE). There are several different physical downlinkchannels that are conveyed using such resource blocks. With particularrelevance to this disclosure, two of these physical downlink channelsare the physical downlink shared channel and the physical down linkcontrol channel.

As used herein, the term “circuitry” may refer to, be part of, orinclude an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electroniccircuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), and/or memory(shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software orfirmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitablehardware components that provide the described functionality. In someembodiments, the circuitry may be implemented in, or functionsassociated with the circuitry may be implemented by, one or moresoftware or firmware modules. In some embodiments, circuitry may includelogic, at least partially operable in hardware. Embodiments describedherein may be implemented into a system using any suitably configuredhardware and/or software.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example machine in accordancewith some embodiments. The machine 200 is an example machine upon whichany one or more of the techniques and/or methodologies discussed hereinmay be performed. In alternative embodiments, the machine 200 mayoperate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) toother machines. In a networked deployment, the machine 200 may operatein the capacity of a server machine, a client machine, or both inserver-client network environments. In an example, the machine 200 mayact as a peer machine in peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed)network environment. The machine 200 may be a UE 102, eNB 104, gNB 105,access point (AP), station (STA), user, device, mobile device, basestation, personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, a smart phone, aweb appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machinecapable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specifyactions to be taken by that machine. Further, while only a singlemachine is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken toinclude any collection of machines that individually or jointly executea set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more ofthe methodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software asa service (SaaS), other computer cluster configurations.

Examples as described herein, may include, or may operate on, logic or anumber of components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules are tangibleentities (e.g., hardware) capable of performing specified operations andmay be configured or arranged in a certain manner. In an example,circuits may be arranged (e.g., internally or with respect to externalentities such as other circuits) in a specified manner as a module. Inan example, the whole or part of one or more computer systems (e.g., astandalone, client or server computer system) or one or more hardwareprocessors may be configured by firmware or software (e.g.,instructions, an application portion, or an application) as a modulethat operates to perform specified operations. In an example, thesoftware may reside on a machine readable medium. In an example, thesoftware, when executed by the underlying hardware of the module, causesthe hardware to perform the specified operations.

Accordingly, the term “module” is understood to encompass a tangibleentity, be that an entity that is physically constructed, specificallyconfigured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily (e.g., transitorily)configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a specified manner or toperform part or all of any operation described herein. Consideringexamples in which modules are temporarily configured, each of themodules need not be instantiated at any one moment in time. For example,where the modules comprise a general-purpose hardware processorconfigured using software, the general-purpose hardware processor may beconfigured as respective different modules at different times. Softwaremay accordingly configure a hardware processor, for example, toconstitute a particular module at one instance of time and to constitutea different module at a different instance of time.

The machine (e.g., computer system) 200 may include a hardware processor202 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit(GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a mainmemory 204 and a static memory 206, some or all of which may communicatewith each other via an interlink (e.g., bus) 208. The machine 200 mayfurther include a display unit 210, an alphanumeric input device 212(e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 214(e.g., a mouse). In an example, the display unit 210, input device 212and UI navigation device 214 may be a touch screen display. The machine200 may additionally include a storage device (e.g., drive unit) 216, asignal generation device 218 (e.g., a speaker), a network interfacedevice 220, and one or more sensors 221, such as a global positioningsystem (GPS) sensor, compass, accelerometer, or other sensor. Themachine 200 may include an output controller 228, such as a serial(e.g., universal serial bus (USB), parallel, or other wired or wireless(e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connectionto communicate or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., aprinter, card reader, etc.).

The storage device 216 may include a machine readable medium 222 onwhich is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions 224(e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of thetechniques or functions described herein. The instructions 224 may alsoreside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 204,within static memory 206, or within the hardware processor 202 duringexecution thereof by the machine 200. In an example, one or anycombination of the hardware processor 202, the main memory 204, thestatic memory 206, or the storage device 216 may constitute machinereadable media. In some embodiments, the machine readable medium may beor may include a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Insome embodiments, the machine readable medium may be or may include acomputer-readable storage medium.

While the machine readable medium 222 is illustrated as a single medium,the term “machine readable medium” may include a single medium ormultiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/orassociated caches and servers) configured to store the one or moreinstructions 224. The term “machine readable medium” may include anymedium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructionsfor execution by the machine 200 and that cause the machine 200 toperform any one or more of the techniques of the present disclosure, orthat is capable of storing, encoding or carrying data structures used byor associated with such instructions. Non-limiting machine readablemedium examples may include solid-state memories, and optical andmagnetic media. Specific examples of machine readable media may include:non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g.,Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), ElectricallyErasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memorydevices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removabledisks; magneto-optical disks; Random Access Memory (RAM); and CD-ROM andDVD-ROM disks. In some examples, machine readable media may includenon-transitory machine readable media. In some examples, machinereadable media may include machine readable media that is not atransitory propagating signal.

The instructions 224 may further be transmitted or received over acommunications network 226 using a transmission medium via the networkinterface device 220 utilizing any one of a number of transfer protocols(e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmission controlprotocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transferprotocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communication networks may include alocal area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet datanetwork (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellularnetworks), Plain Old Telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless datanetworks (e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi®, IEEE 802.16 family ofstandards known as WiMax®), IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, a LongTerm Evolution (LTE) family of standards, a Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) family of standards, peer-to-peer (P2P)networks, among others. In an example, the network interface device 220may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, orphone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the communicationsnetwork 226. In an example, the network interface device 220 may includea plurality of antennas to wirelessly communicate using at least one ofsingle-input multiple-output (SIMO), multiple-input multiple-output(MIMO), or multiple-input single-output (MISO) techniques. In someexamples, the network interface device 220 may wirelessly communicateusing Multiple User MIMO techniques. The term “transmission medium”shall be taken to include any intangible medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying instructions for execution by the machine200, and includes digital or analog communications signals or otherintangible medium to facilitate communication of such software.

FIG. 3 illustrates a user device in accordance with some aspects. Insome embodiments, the user device 300 may be a mobile device. In someembodiments, the user device 300 may be or may be configured to operateas a User Equipment (UE). In some embodiments, the user device 300 maybe arranged to operate in accordance with a new radio (NR) protocol. Insome embodiments, the user device 300 may be arranged to operate inaccordance with a Third Generation Partnership Protocol (3GPP) protocol.The user device 300 may be suitable for use as a UE 102 as depicted inFIG. 1, in some embodiments. It should be noted that in someembodiments, a UE, an apparatus of a UE, a user device or an apparatusof a user device may include one or more of the components shown in oneor more of FIGS. 2, 3, and 5. In some embodiments, such a UE, userdevice and/or apparatus may include one or more additional components.

In some aspects, the user device 300 may include an applicationprocessor 305, baseband processor 310 (also referred to as a basebandmodule), radio front end module (RFEM) 315, memory 320, connectivitymodule 325, near field communication (NFC) controller 330, audio driver335, camera driver 340, touch screen 345, display driver 350, sensors355, removable memory 360, power management integrated circuit (PMIC)365 and smart battery 370. In some aspects, the user device 300 may be aUser Equipment (UE).

In some aspects, application processor 305 may include, for example, oneor more CPU cores and one or more of cache memory, low drop-out voltageregulators (LDOs), interrupt controllers, serial interfaces such asserial peripheral interface (SPI), inter-integrated circuit (I²C) oruniversal programmable serial interface module, real time clock (RTC),timer-counters including interval and watchdog timers, general purposeinput-output (IO), memory card controllers such as securedigital/multi-media card (SD/MMC) or similar, universal serial bus (USB)interfaces, mobile industry processor interface (MIPI) interfaces andJoint Test Access Group (JTAG) test access ports.

In some aspects, baseband module 310 may be implemented, for example, asa solder-down substrate including one or more integrated circuits, asingle packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board,and/or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits.

FIG. 4 illustrates a base station in accordance with some aspects. Insome embodiments, the base station 400 may be or may be configured tooperate as an Evolved Node-B (eNB). In some embodiments, the basestation 400 may be or may be configured to operate as a Next GenerationNode-B (gNB). In some embodiments, the base station 400 may be arrangedto operate in accordance with a new radio (NR) protocol. In someembodiments, the base station 400 may be arranged to operate inaccordance with a Third Generation Partnership Protocol (3GPP) protocol.It should be noted that in some embodiments, the base station 400 may bea stationary non-mobile device. The base station 400 may be suitable foruse as an eNB 104 as depicted in FIG. 1, in some embodiments. The basestation 400 may be suitable for use as a gNB 105 as depicted in FIG. 1,in some embodiments. It should be noted that in some embodiments, aneNB, an apparatus of an eNB, a gNB, an apparatus of a gNB, a basestation and/or an apparatus of a base station may include one or more ofthe components shown in one or more of FIGS. 2, 4, and 5. In someembodiments, such an eNB, gNB, base station and/or apparatus may includeone or more additional components.

FIG. 4 illustrates a base station or infrastructure equipment radio head400 in accordance with some aspects. The base station 400 may includeone or more of application processor 405, baseband modules 410, one ormore radio front end modules 415, memory 420, power management circuitry425, power tee circuitry 430, network controller 435, network interfaceconnector 440, satellite navigation receiver module 445, and userinterface 450. In some aspects, the base station 400 may be an EvolvedNode-B (eNB), which may be arranged to operate in accordance with a 3GPPprotocol, new radio (NR) protocol and/or Fifth Generation (5G) protocol.In some aspects, the base station 400 may be a Next Generation Node-B(gNB), which may be arranged to operate in accordance with a 3GPPprotocol, new radio (NR) protocol and/or Fifth Generation (5G) protocol.

In some aspects, application processor 405 may include one or more CPUcores and one or more of cache memory, low drop-out voltage regulators(LDOs), interrupt controllers, serial interfaces such as SPI, I²C oruniversal programmable serial interface module, real time clock (RTC),timer-counters including interval and watchdog timers, general purpose10, memory card controllers such as SD/MMC or similar, USB interfaces,MIPI interfaces and Joint Test Access Group (JTAG) test access ports.

In some aspects, baseband processor 410 may be implemented, for example,as a solder-down substrate including one or more integrated circuits, asingle packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board or amulti-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits.

In some aspects, memory 420 may include one or more of volatile memoryincluding dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and/or synchronous dynamicrandom access memory (SDRAM), and nonvolatile memory (NVM) includinghigh-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as Flashmemory), phase change random access memory (PRAM), magneto-resistiverandom access memory (MRAM) and/or a three-dimensional cross-pointmemory. Memory 420 may be implemented as one or more of solder downpackaged integrated circuits, socketed memory modules and plug-in memorycards.

In some aspects, power management integrated circuitry 425 may includeone or more of voltage regulators, surge protectors, power alarmdetection circuitry and one or more backup power sources such as abattery or capacitor. Power alarm detection circuitry may detect one ormore of brown out (under-voltage) and surge (over-voltage) conditions.

In some aspects, power tee circuitry 430 may provide for electricalpower drawn from a network cable to provide both power supply and dataconnectivity to the base station 400 using a single cable. In someaspects, network controller 435 may provide connectivity to a networkusing a standard network interface protocol such as Ethernet. Networkconnectivity may be provided using a physical connection which is one ofelectrical (commonly referred to as copper interconnect), optical orwireless.

In some aspects, satellite navigation receiver module 445 may includecircuitry to receive and decode signals transmitted by one or morenavigation satellite constellations such as the global positioningsystem (GPS), Globalnaya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema (GLONASS),Galileo and/or BeiDou. The receiver 445 may provide data to applicationprocessor 405 which may include one or more of position data or timedata. Application processor 405 may use time data to synchronizeoperations with other radio base stations. In some aspects, userinterface 450 may include one or more of physical or virtual buttons,such as a reset button, one or more indicators such as light emittingdiodes (LEDs) and a display screen.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary communication circuitry according tosome aspects. Circuitry 500 is alternatively grouped according tofunctions. Components as shown in 500 are shown here for illustrativepurposes and may include other components not shown here in FIG. 5. Insome aspects, the communication circuitry 500 may be used for millimeterwave communication, although aspects are not limited to millimeter wavecommunication. Communication at any suitable frequency may be performedby the communication circuitry 500 in some aspects.

It should be noted that a device, such as a UE 102, eNB 104, gNB 105,the user device 300, the base station 400, the machine 200 and/or otherdevice may include one or more components of the communication circuitry500, in some aspects.

The communication circuitry 500 may include protocol processingcircuitry 505, which may implement one or more of medium access control(MAC), radio link control (RLC), packet data convergence protocol(PDCP), radio resource control (RRC) and non-access stratum (NAS)functions. Protocol processing circuitry 505 may include one or moreprocessing cores (not shown) to execute instructions and one or morememory structures (not shown) to store program and data information.

The communication circuitry 500 may further include digital basebandcircuitry 510, which may implement physical layer (PHY) functionsincluding one or more of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)functions, scrambling and/or descrambling, coding and/or decoding, layermapping and/or de-mapping, modulation symbol mapping, received symboland/or bit metric determination, multi-antenna port pre-coding and/ordecoding which may include one or more of space-time, space-frequency orspatial coding, reference signal generation and/or detection, preamblesequence generation and/or decoding, synchronization sequence generationand/or detection, control channel signal blind decoding, and otherrelated functions.

The communication circuitry 500 may further include transmit circuitry515, receive circuitry 520 and/or antenna array circuitry 530. Thecommunication circuitry 500 may further include radio frequency (RF)circuitry 525. In an aspect of the disclosure, RF circuitry 525 mayinclude multiple parallel RF chains for one or more of transmit orreceive functions, each connected to one or more antennas of the antennaarray 530.

In an aspect of the disclosure, protocol processing circuitry 505 mayinclude one or more instances of control circuitry (not shown) toprovide control functions for one or more of digital baseband circuitry510, transmit circuitry 515, receive circuitry 520, and/or radiofrequency circuitry 525.

In some embodiments, processing circuitry may perform one or moreoperations described herein and/or other operation(s). In a non-limitingexample, the processing circuitry may include one or more componentssuch as the processor 202, application processor 305, baseband module310, application processor 405, baseband module 410, protocol processingcircuitry 505, digital baseband circuitry 510, similar component(s)and/or other component(s).

In some embodiments, a transceiver may transmit one or more elements(including but not limited to those described herein) and/or receive oneor more elements (including but not limited to those described herein).In a non-limiting example, the transceiver may include one or morecomponents such as the radio front end module 315, radio front endmodule 415, transmit circuitry 515, receive circuitry 520, radiofrequency circuitry 525, similar component(s) and/or other component(s).

One or more antennas (such as 230, 312, 412, 530 and/or others) maycomprise one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including,for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loopantennas, microstrip antennas or other types of antennas suitable fortransmission of RF signals. In some multiple-input multiple-output(MIMO) embodiments, one or more of the antennas (such as 230, 312, 412,530 and/or others) may be effectively separated to take advantage ofspatial diversity and the different channel characteristics that mayresult.

In some embodiments, the UE 102, eNB 104, gNB 105, user device 300, basestation 400, machine 200 and/or other device described herein may be amobile device and/or portable wireless communication device, such as apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop or portable computer withwireless communication capability, a web tablet, a wireless telephone, asmartphone, a wireless headset, a pager, an instant messaging device, adigital camera, an access point, a television, a wearable device such asa medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor,etc.), or other device that may receive and/or transmit informationwirelessly. In some embodiments, the UE 102, eNB 104, gNB 105, userdevice 300, base station 400, machine 200 and/or other device describedherein may be configured to operate in accordance with 3GPP standards,although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. Insome embodiments, the UE 102, eNB 104, gNB 105, user device 300, basestation 400, machine 200 and/or other device described herein may beconfigured to operate in accordance with new radio (NR) standards,although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. Insome embodiments, the UE 102, eNB 104, gNB 105, user device 300, basestation 400, machine 200 and/or other device described herein may beconfigured to operate according to other protocols or standards,including IEEE 802.11 or other IEEE standards. In some embodiments, theUE 102, eNB 104, gNB 105, user device 300, base station 400, machine 200and/or other device described herein may include one or more of akeyboard, a display, a non-volatile memory port, multiple antennas, agraphics processor, an application processor, speakers, and other mobiledevice elements. The display may be an LCD screen including a touchscreen.

Although the UE 102, eNB 104, gNB 105, user device 300, base station400, machine 200 and/or other device described herein may each beillustrated as having several separate functional elements, one or moreof the functional elements may be combined and may be implemented bycombinations of software-configured elements, such as processingelements including digital signal processors (DSPs), and/or otherhardware elements. For example, some elements may comprise one or moremicroprocessors, DSPs, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), radio-frequencyintegrated circuits (RFICs) and combinations of various hardware andlogic circuitry for performing at least the functions described herein.In some embodiments, the functional elements may refer to one or moreprocesses operating on one or more processing elements.

Embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware,firmware and software. Embodiments may also be implemented asinstructions stored on a computer-readable storage device, which may beread and executed by at least one processor to perform the operationsdescribed herein. A computer-readable storage device may include anynon-transitory mechanism for storing information in a form readable by amachine (e.g., a computer). For example, a computer-readable storagedevice may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM),magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memorydevices, and other storage devices and media. Some embodiments mayinclude one or more processors and may be configured with instructionsstored on a computer-readable storage device.

It should be noted that in some embodiments, an apparatus of the UE 102,eNB 104, gNB 105, machine 200, user device 300 and/or base station 400may include various components shown in FIGS. 2-5. Accordingly,techniques and operations described herein that refer to the UE 102 maybe applicable to an apparatus of a UE. In addition, techniques andoperations described herein that refer to the eNB 104 may be applicableto an apparatus of an eNB. In addition, techniques and operationsdescribed herein that refer to the gNB 105 may be applicable to anapparatus of a gNB.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a radio frame structure in accordancewith some embodiments. FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate example frequencyresources in accordance with some embodiments. In references herein,“FIG. 7” may include FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B. It should be noted that theexamples shown in FIGS. 6-7 may illustrate some or all of the conceptsand techniques described herein in some cases, but embodiments are notlimited by the examples. For instance, embodiments are not limited bythe name, number, type, size, ordering, arrangement and/or other aspectsof the time resources, symbol periods, frequency resources, PRBs andother elements as shown in FIGS. 6-7. Although some of the elementsshown in the examples of FIGS. 6-7 may be included in a 3GPP LTEstandard, 5G standard, NR standard and/or other standard, embodimentsare not limited to usage of such elements that are included instandards.

An example of a radio frame structure that may be used in some aspectsis shown in FIG. 6. In this example, radio frame 600 has a duration of10 ms. Radio frame 600 is divided into slots 602 each of duration 0.5ms, and numbered from 0 to 19. Additionally, each pair of adjacent slots602 numbered 2i and 2i−1, where i is an integer, is referred to as asubframe 601.

In some aspects using the radio frame format of FIG. 6, each subframe601 may include a combination of one or more of downlink controlinformation, downlink data information, uplink control information anduplink data information. The combination of information types anddirection may be selected independently for each subframe 602.

Referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B, in some aspects, a sub-component of atransmitted signal consisting of one subcarrier in the frequency domainand one symbol interval in the time domain may be termed a resourceelement. Resource elements may be depicted in a grid form as shown inFIG. 7A and FIG. 7B.

In some aspects, illustrated in FIG. 7A, resource elements may begrouped into rectangular resource blocks 700 consisting of 12subcarriers in the frequency domain and the P symbols in the timedomain, where P may correspond to the number of symbols contained in oneslot, and may be 6, 7, or any other suitable number of symbols.

In some alternative aspects, illustrated in FIG. 7B, resource elementsmay be grouped into resource blocks 700 consisting of 12 subcarriers (asindicated by 702) in the frequency domain and one symbol in the timedomain. In the depictions of FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, each resource element705 may be indexed as (k, l) where k is the index number of subcarrier,in the range 0 to N·M−1 (as indicated by 703), where N is the number ofsubcarriers in a resource block, and M is the number of resource blocksspanning a component carrier in the frequency domain.

In accordance with some embodiments, the UE 102 may receive a physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH) that schedules a physical downlinkshared channel (PDSCH). The PDSCH may be scheduled in a slot of aplurality of slots. The PDSCH may be further scheduled on a componentcarrier (CC) of a plurality of CCs. The PDCCH may include a downlinkcontrol information (DCI) that includes: a total downlink assignmentindex (DAI) for hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement(HARQ-ACK) feedback of the PDSCH, wherein the total DAI indicates atotal number of pairs of CCs and slots for the HARQ-ACK feedback; and acounter DAI based on an accumulative number of other PDCCHs. The UE 102may attempt to decode the PDSCH received within the scheduled slot onthe scheduled CC. The UE 102 may encode the HARQ-ACK feedback to includea bit that indicates whether the PDSCH is successfully decoded. A sizeof the HARQ-ACK feedback may be based on the total DAI. A position ofthe bit within the HARQ-ACK feedback may be based on the counter DAI.These embodiments are described in more detail below.

FIG. 8 illustrates the operation of a method of communication inaccordance with some embodiments. FIG. 9 illustrates the operation ofanother method of communication in accordance with some embodiments. Itis important to note that embodiments of the methods 800, 900 mayinclude additional or even fewer operations or processes in comparisonto what is illustrated in FIGS. 8-9. In addition, embodiments of themethods 800, 900 are not necessarily limited to the chronological orderthat is shown in FIGS. 8-9. In describing the methods 800, 900,reference may be made to one or more figures, although it is understoodthat the methods 800, 900 may be practiced with any other suitablesystems, interfaces and components.

In some embodiments, a UE 102 may perform one or more operations of themethod 800, but embodiments are not limited to performance of the method800 and/or operations of it by the UE 102. In some embodiments, anotherdevice and/or component may perform one or more operations of the method800. In some embodiments, another device and/or component may performone or more operations that may be similar to one or more operations ofthe method 800. In some embodiments, another device and/or component mayperform one or more operations that may be reciprocal to one or moreoperations of the method 800. In a non-limiting example, the gNB 105 mayperform an operation that may be the same as, similar to, reciprocal toand/or related to an operation of the method 800, in some embodiments.

In some embodiments, a gNB 105 may perform one or more operations of themethod 900, but embodiments are not limited to performance of the method900 and/or operations of it by the gNB 105. In some embodiments, anotherdevice and/or component may perform one or more operations of the method900. In some embodiments, another device and/or component may performone or more operations that may be similar to one or more operations ofthe method 900. In some embodiments, another device and/or component mayperform one or more operations that may be reciprocal to one or moreoperations of the method 900. In a non-limiting example, the UE 102 mayperform an operation that may be the same as, similar to, reciprocal toand/or related to an operation of the method 800, in some embodiments.

It should be noted that one or more operations of one of the methods800, 900 may be the same as, similar to and/or reciprocal to one or moreoperations of the other method. For instance, an operation of the method800 may be the same as, similar to and/or reciprocal to an operation ofthe method 900, in some embodiments. In a non-limiting example, anoperation of the method 800 may include reception of an element (such asa frame, block, message and/or other) by the UE 102, and an operation ofthe method 900 may include transmission of a same element (and/orsimilar element) by the gNB 105. In some cases, descriptions ofoperations and techniques described as part of one of the methods 800,900 may be relevant to the other method.

Discussion of various techniques and concepts regarding one of themethods 800, 900 and/or other method may be applicable to one of theother methods, although the scope of embodiments is not limited in thisrespect. Such technique and concepts may include HARQ, HARQ-ACK,HARQ-ACK feedback, PDCCH, PDSCH, code-block groups (CBGs), codewords(CWs), DCI, total DAI, counter DAI and/or other.

The methods 800, 900 and other methods described herein may refer toeNBs 104, gNBs 105 and/or UEs 102 operating in accordance with 3GPPstandards, 5G standards, NR standards and/or other standards. However,embodiments are not limited to performance of those methods by thosecomponents, and may also be performed by other devices, such as a Wi-Fiaccess point (AP) or user station (STA). In addition, the methods 800,900 and other methods described herein may be practiced by wirelessdevices configured to operate in other suitable types of wirelesscommunication systems, including systems configured to operate accordingto various IEEE standards such as IEEE 802.11. The methods 800, 900 mayalso be applicable to an apparatus of a UE 102, an apparatus of an eNB104, an apparatus of a gNB 105 and/or an apparatus of another devicedescribed above.

It should also be noted that embodiments are not limited by referencesherein (such as in descriptions of the methods 800, 900 and/or otherdescriptions herein) to transmission, reception and/or exchanging ofelements such as frames, messages, requests, indicators, signals orother elements. In some embodiments, such an element may be generated,encoded or otherwise processed by processing circuitry (such as by abaseband processor included in the processing circuitry) fortransmission. The transmission may be performed by a transceiver orother component, in some cases. In some embodiments, such an element maybe decoded, detected or otherwise processed by the processing circuitry(such as by the baseband processor). The element may be received by atransceiver or other component, in some cases. In some embodiments, theprocessing circuitry and the transceiver may be included in a sameapparatus. The scope of embodiments is not limited in this respect,however, as the transceiver may be separate from the apparatus thatcomprises the processing circuitry, in some embodiments.

One or more of the elements (such as messages, operations and/or other)described herein may be included in a standard and/or protocol,including but not limited to Third Generation Partnership Project(3GPP), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE), Fourth Generation (4G), FifthGeneration (5G), New Radio (NR) and/or other. The scope of embodimentsis not limited to usage of elements that are included in standards,however.

At operation 805, the UE 102 may receive control signaling. At operation810, the UE 102 may receive one or more physical downlink controlchannel (PDCCHs). At operation 815, the UE 102 may receive one or morephysical downlink shared channels (PDCSHs). At operation 820, the UE 102may encode HARQ-ACK feedback. At operation 825, the UE 102 may transmitthe HARQ-ACK feedback.

In some embodiments, the UE 102 may receive a PDCCH that schedules aPDSCH. In some embodiments, the PDSCH may be scheduled in a slot of aplurality of slots. In some embodiments, the PDSCH may be scheduled on acomponent carrier (CC) of a plurality of CCs. In some embodiments, thePDCCH may include a downlink control information (DCI) that includes: atotal downlink assignment index (DAI) for hybrid automatic repeatrequest acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback of the PDSCH, and a counterDAI for the HARQ-ACK feedback of the PDSCH. In some embodiments, thetotal DAI may indicate a total number of pairs of CCs and slots for theHARQ-ACK feedback. In some embodiments, the counter DAI may be based onan accumulative number of other PDCCHs.

It should be noted that embodiments are not limited to a single PDCCH orto a single PDSCH. One or more of the operations, techniques and/orexamples described herein may be extended to multiple PDCCHs and/ormultiple PDSCHs. In a non-limiting example, the UE 102 may receivemultiple PDCCHs, and each PDCCH may schedule a PDSCH. In anothernon-limiting example, the UE 102 may receive multiple PDCCHs, and atleast some of the PDCCHs may each schedule a PDSCH.

In some embodiments, the UE 102 may attempt to decode the PDSCH receivedwithin the scheduled slot on the scheduled CC. In some embodiments, theUE 102 may encode the HARQ-ACK feedback to include a bit that indicateswhether the PDSCH is successfully decoded. In some embodiments, a sizeof the HARQ-ACK feedback may be based on the total DAI. In someembodiments, a position of the bit within the HARQ-ACK feedback may bebased on the counter DAI.

In some embodiments, the plurality of CCs may be configurable to includeCCs of different sub-carrier spacings. In some embodiments, if at leastsome of the sub-carrier spacings are different, the total DAI may bebased on a number of PDCCHs of a CC for which a correspondingsub-carrier spacing is equal to a maximum of the sub-carrier spacings.

In some embodiments, the total number of pairs of CCs and slotsindicated by the total DAI may be a total number of pairs of CCs andslots that include: a PDSCH scheduled by another PDCCH, or a PDCCH thatindicates a presence of a downlink (DL) semi-persistent scheduling (SPS)release. In some embodiments, the total DAI may be configurable to bedifferent in different PDCCH scheduling instances.

In some embodiments, the PDCCH may be referred to without limitation, asa “present PDCCH.” In some embodiments, the counter DAI may indicate anaccumulative number of PDCCHs across CCs with assigned PDSCHs and PDCCHsthat indicate downlink (DL) releases of semi-persistent scheduling (SPS)up to the present PDCCH.

In some embodiments, the PDSCH may be configurable to include one ormore codewords that include one or more codeblock groups (CBGs). In someembodiments, the CBGs of each codeword may be mapped to CBG indexes. Insome embodiments, the HARQ-ACK feedback may be based on decoding of theCBGs. In some embodiments, if the codewords include different numbers ofCBGs or if the CCs are configured for different numbers of CBGs, aHARQ-ACK codebook size may be based on a product of: a maximum ofHARQ-ACK codebook sizes configured per CC, and the total DAI.

In some embodiments, the UE 102 may determine, based on separate DAIprocesses that includes separate counter DAIs and separate total DAIs.In some embodiments, the UE 102 may determine separate HARQ-ACKsub-codebooks for CBG-based HARQ-ACK feedback for the CBGs and fortransport block (TB)-based HARQ-ACK feedback of one or more TBs. In someembodiments, the UE 102 may encode the HARQ-ACK feedback to include theCBG-based HARQ-ACK feedback and the TB-based HARQ-ACK feedback.

In some embodiments, the UE 102 may decode control signaling thatindicates a HARQ-ACK feedback mode. In some embodiments, in a firstHARQ-ACK feedback mode, the HARQ-ACK feedback may include, for eachcodeword, an acknowledgement (ACK) indicator that indicates whether atleast one of the CBGs of the codeword is not successfully decoded. In asecond HARQ-ACK feedback mode, the HARQ-ACK feedback may include, foreach CBG index, an ACK indicator that indicates whether at least one ofthe CBGs mapped to the CBG index is not successfully decoded. In a thirdHARQ-ACK feedback mode, the HARQ-ACK feedback mode includes per-CBG ACKindicators.

In some embodiments, control signaling that indicates a HARQ-ACKfeedback mode for a PDSCH that is configurable to include one or morecodewords that include one or more codeblock groups (CBGs). The CBGs ofeach codeword may be mapped to CBG indexes. The UE 102 may attempt todecode the CBGs received in the PDSCH. In some embodiments, the UE 102may, if a first HARQ-ACK feedback mode is indicated by the controlsignaling, encode HARQ-ACK feedback to include, for each codeword, anacknowledgement (ACK) indicator that indicates whether at least one ofthe CBGs of the codeword is not successfully decoded. In someembodiments, the UE 102 may, if a second HARQ-ACK feedback mode isindicated by the control signaling, encode the HARQ-ACK feedback toinclude, for each CBG index, an ACK indicator that indicates whether atleast one of the CBGs mapped to the CBG index is not successfullydecoded. In some embodiments, the UE 102 may, if a third HARQ-ACKfeedback mode is indicated by the control signaling, encode the HARQ-ACKfeedback to include per-CBG ACK indicators.

In some embodiments, if the first HARQ-ACK feedback mode is indicated bythe control signaling, the ACK indicator of each codeword may be basedon a logical “and” operation applied to per-CBG ACK indicators of theCBGs of the codeword. In some embodiments, if the second HARQ-ACKfeedback mode is indicated by the control signaling, the ACK indicatorfor each CBG index may be based on a logical “and” operation applied toper-CBG ACK indicators of the CBGs mapped to the CBG index.

In some embodiments, the codewords may be mapped to codeword indexes.The UE 102 may, if the third HARQ-ACK feedback mode is indicated by thecontrol signaling, encode the HARQ-ACK feedback to include the per-CBGACK indicators in accordance with one or more of the following. If thePDSCH includes one codeword, the UE 102 may encode the HARQ-ACK feedbackin accordance with a concatenation of the per-CBG ACK indicators in anincreasing order of the CBG indexes of the per-CBG ACK indicators. Ifthe PDSCH includes more than one codeword, the UE 102 may encode theHARQ-ACK feedback in accordance with per-codeword concatenations of theper-CBG ACK indicators of each codeword in an increasing order of theCBG indexes of the per-CBG ACK indicators; and a concatenation of theper-codeword concatenations in an increasing order of the codewordindexes.

It should be noted that one or more of the above modes (first, second,and third) may be used, in some embodiments. In some embodiments, allthree of those modes may not necessarily be used. In some embodiments,one or more additional modes may be used. In addition, the labels of“first” and “second” and “third” for the above modes are not limiting,and may be used herein for clarity of description, in some cases.

In some embodiments, the UE 102 may determine a NACK indication value(NIV) for a NACK region that includes CBGs that are not successfullydecoded. In some embodiments, if a first number is less than or equal toa floor function of a maximum number of CBGs divided by two (wherein thefirst number may be equal to a length of contiguous CBGs minus one), theNIV may be equal to a sum of: a starting CBG, and a product of themaximum number of CBGs and the first number. In some embodiments, if thefirst number is greater than the floor function of the maximum number ofCBGs divided by two, the NIV may be equal to a sum of: a product of asecond number and the maximum number of CBGs (wherein the second numbermay be equal to the maximum number of CBGs minus the length ofcontiguous CBGs plus one) and a third number (wherein the third numbermay be equal to the maximum number of CBGs minus one minus the startingCBG).

In some embodiments, the UE 102 may determine the HARQ-ACK feedbackbased on a tree structure based on an aggregation of contiguous CBGswith varied aggregation levels arranged in accordance with a hierarchy.In some embodiments, a parent node may include two children nodes. Insome embodiments, the UE 102 may encode the HARQ-ACK feedback to includea node index of a smallest aggregation level of the tree structure. Insome embodiments, the UE 102 may, for a plurality of PDSCHs for whichthe UE 102 is to encode HARQ-ACK feedback, select a portion of theplurality of PDSCHs. The PDSCHs may be received on multiple CCs,although the scope of embodiments is not limited in this respect. Insome embodiments, the UE 102 may encode the HARQ-ACK feedback for theselected portion of the PDSCHs with a bit field indexed in order ofincreasing CC index. In some embodiments, a size of the bit field may beequal to a ceiling function applied to a base-2 logarithm of a size ofthe plurality of PDSCHs.

In some embodiments, the UE 102 may decode multiple PDCCHs that schedulemultiple PDCCHs on a plurality of component carriers (CCs) of a carrieraggregation.

In some embodiments, an apparatus of a UE 102 may comprise memory. Thememory may be configurable to store information identifying the totalDAI and counter DAI. The memory may store one or more other elements andthe apparatus may use them for performance of one or more operations.The apparatus may include processing circuitry, which may perform one ormore operations (including but not limited to operation(s) of the method800 and/or other methods described herein). The processing circuitry mayinclude a baseband processor. The baseband circuitry and/or theprocessing circuitry may perform one or more operations describedherein, including but not limited to decoding of the PDCCH. Theapparatus may include a transceiver to receive the PDCCH. Thetransceiver may transmit and/or receive other blocks, messages and/orother elements.

At operation 905, the gNB 105 may transmit control signaling. Atoperation 910, the gNB 105 may transmit one or more PDCCHs. At operation915, the gNB 105 may transmit one or more PDSCHs. At operation 920, thegNB 105 may receive HARQ-ACK feedback.

In some embodiments, the gNB 105 may transmit a PDCCH that schedules atransmission of a PDSCH by the gNB 105 to a UE 102. In some embodiments,the PDSCH may be scheduled in a slot of a plurality of slots. In someembodiments, the PDSCH may be scheduled on a component carrier (CC) of aplurality of CCs. In some embodiments, the PDCCH may include a downlinkcontrol information (DCI) that includes: a total downlink assignmentindex (DAI) for hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement(HARQ-ACK) feedback of the PDSCH, and a counter DAI. In someembodiments, the total DAI may indicate a total number of pairs of CCsand slots for the HARQ-ACK feedback. In some embodiments, the counterDAI may be based on an accumulative number of other PDCCHs. In someembodiments, the gNB 105 may decode the HARQ-ACK feedback from the UE102. In some embodiments, a bit of the HARQ-ACK feedback may indicatewhether the PDSCH is successfully decoded. A position of the bit withinthe HARQ-ACK feedback may be based on the total DAI and the counter DAI.In some embodiments, the total number of pairs of CCs and slotsindicated by the total DAI may be a total number of pairs of CCs andslots that include: a PDSCH scheduled by another PDCCH, or a PDCCH thatindicates a presence of a downlink (DL) semi-persistent scheduling (SPS)release.

In some embodiments, an apparatus of a gNB 105 may comprise memory. Thememory may be configurable to store information identifying the totalDAI and counter DAI. The memory may store one or more other elements andthe apparatus may use them for performance of one or more operations.The apparatus may include processing circuitry, which may perform one ormore operations (including but not limited to operation(s) of the method900 and/or other methods described herein). The processing circuitry mayinclude a baseband processor. The baseband circuitry and/or theprocessing circuitry may perform one or more operations describedherein, including but not limited to encoding of the PDCCH. Theapparatus may include a transceiver to transmit the PDCCH. Thetransceiver may transmit and/or receive other blocks, messages and/orother element.

FIG. 10 illustrates example ACK/NACK modes in accordance with someembodiments. FIGS. 11-14 illustrate example hybrid automatic repeatrequest (HARQ) techniques in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 15illustrates examples of grant-free NOMA transmission in accordance withsome embodiments. FIG. 16 illustrates additional examples of grant-freeNOMA transmission in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 17illustrates another example of grant-free NOMA transmission inaccordance with some embodiments. FIG. 18 illustrates example elementsthat may be transmitted in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 19A,FIG. 19B, FIG. 19C, and FIG. 19D illustrate example time resources andfrequency resources in accordance with some embodiments. In referencesherein, “FIG. 19” may include FIG. 19A, FIG. 19B, FIG. 19C and FIG. 19D.FIG. 20A and FIG. 20B illustrate additional examples of time resourcesand frequency resources in accordance with some embodiments. Inreferences herein, “FIG. 20” may include FIG. 20A and FIG. 20B. FIG. 21illustrates an example of usage of multi-access (MA) signatures inaccordance with some embodiments. FIG. 22A, FIG. 22B, and FIG. 22Cillustrate example resource pools in accordance with some embodiments.In references herein, “FIG. 22” may include FIG. 22A, FIG. 22B, and FIG.22C.

It should be noted that the examples shown in FIGS. 10-22 may illustratesome or all of the concepts and techniques described herein in somecases, but embodiments are not limited by the examples. For instance,embodiments are not limited by the name, number, type, size, ordering,arrangement of elements (such as devices, operations, messages and/orother elements) shown in FIGS. 10-22. Although some of the elementsshown in the examples of FIGS. 10-22 may be included in a 3GPP LTEstandard, 5G standard, NR standard and/or other standard, embodimentsare not limited to usage of such elements that are included instandards.

In some embodiments, for an LTE protocol, the scheduling unit is onesubframe with one or two TBs (two TBs for MIMO) where each TB consistsof one or several code blocks (CBs). HARQ-ACK feedback is per TB, andTB-level retransmission is supported by separate HARQ-related/MCSinformation per TB in a DL assignment. For NR, with increasedtransmission bandwidth up to 100 MHz or even up to GHz in above 6 GHzfrequency bands, the maximum TB size can be more than an order ofmagnitude larger than the maximum CB size. Then, a relatively muchlarger number of CBs per TB is expected compared with LTE. When a UEincorrectly detects only a few CBs per TB, unnecessary retransmissionoverhead increases roughly proportionally to the number of CBs per TB.Considering that the proper scheduling and HARQ-ACKfeedback/retransmission mechanism for eMBB may vary with the TB size,available physical resource for mini-slot/slot, and potential URLLCtraffic, 3GPP agreed to support CBG-based DL transmissions for NR bydividing a TBS into CBGs and allow separate HARQ operations on a per CBGlevel to improve the HARQ efficiency. The support of CBG-based PDSCHtransmissions for up to 16 DL carriers in NR systems increasessignificantly the amount of UCI that needs to be transmitted in a singlesubframe, including the number of HARQ-ACK bits. This problem becomeseven more serious for TDD systems where multiple DL CCs/slots associatewith one UL subframe for HARQ-ACK transmission. Various solutions areproposed hereafter to minimize the HARQ-ACK overhead thereby extendingthe coverage of CBG-based operations in case of CA scenarios.

In various aspects disclosed herein relate to HARQ-ACK payloadreductions for CBG-based transmissions. These schemes may ensure a sameunderstanding between a gNB 105 and the UE 102 on the size of HARQ-ACKcodebook, HARQ-ACK bits ordering and may also provide more efficientHARQ-ACK feedback on UL.

In some embodiments (which may be related to HARQ-ACK payload reductionin some cases, although the scope of embodiments is not limited in thisrespect), three ACK/NACK feedback modes may be supported for CBG-basedtransmission by higher layer configuration or L1 signaling (i.e.Downlink control information (DCI) format) for one or two codewords(CWs) case. Note that, commonly for all modes, the UE 102 may decode themultiple CBs within a CBG and determine an ACK or a negativeacknowledgement (NACK) for each CBG of each CW. Then, subsequent stepsmay be conducted for each mode respectively as follows.

In some embodiments, for Mode-1, cross-CBG ACK/NACK bundling may beused. In this mode, ACK/NACK bundling may be performed per CW across allCBGs by a logical AND operation. It may result in 1 or 2 ACK/NACK bitsper PDSCH transmission and essentially fallback to per-TB basis HARQ-ACKfeedback. A non-limiting example of mode-1 is shown as 1000 in FIG. 10.

In some embodiments, for Mode-2, cross-CW ACK/NACK bundling may be used.For this mode, spatial ACK/NACK bundling is performed across multipleCWs by a logical AND operation. In some designs, if the CBG numbers aredifferent for two CWs (denoted as C1 and C2, respectively, whereinC1<C2), the UE 102 may (and/or shall) generate an ACK for any (C2−C1)CBGs of CW2 consisting of C2 CBGs when performing an ACK/NACK Mode-2bundling operation to generate ACK/NACK bits b_(C1) . . . b_(C2-1) asillustrated in the non-limiting example 1025 in FIG. 10.

In some embodiments, for Mode-3, ACK/NACK multiplexing may be used. Thegenerated ACK/NACK bits for all CBGs may be sequentially concatenatedwithout in increasing order of CBG index for each CW and then inincreasing order of CW index.

In some embodiments, if the UE 102 is configured with dynamic HARQ-ACKcodebook for CBG-based transmissions and more than one serving cell, twofields named as Counter DAI and Total DAI are separately included in DCIformats used for scheduling of one or two codewords in one cell. Thevalue of total DAI in DCI formats denotes the total number of {CCs,slot} pairs in which PDSCH transmission(s) associated with PDCCH orPDCCH indicating DL SPS release is present up to the present PDCCHscheduling instance determined by the largest subcarrier spacing (SCS)of the aggregated CCs, shall be updated from PDCCH scheduling instanceto PDCCH scheduling instance. The value of the counter DAI in DCIformats denotes the accumulative number of PDCCH across CCs withassigned PDSCH transmission(s) and PDCCH indicating DL SPS release up tothe present PDCCH scheduling instance. The UE 102 shall assume a samevalue of total DAI in all PDCCHs scheduling PDSCH transmission(s) in aPDCCH scheduling instance.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of setting 2-bit counter DAI and totalDAI fields in PDCCH(s) assuming 3 aggregation CCs with the SCS of 15kHz, 30 kHz and 60 kHz, respectively. In accordance with someembodiments, eight PDCCH scheduling instances 1110-1145 are firstdetermined based on the largest SCS of 60 kHz for the values of totalDAI 1155 and counter DAI field 1150 in each PDCCH. It was furtherassumed that all three CCs are scheduled for PDSCH transmissions inPDCCH scheduling instance 1110, the (counter DAI, total DAI) is set as(1, 3), (2,3) and (3,3) accordingly. Similarly, in PDCCH schedulinginstance 1120, only one PDSCH is scheduled on CC0. Correspondingly, the2-bit fields of (counter DAI, total DAI) needs to be set as (0, 0) i.e.total DAI is set to ‘4’ as in total four PDSCH transmissions arescheduled across 3 CCs up to PDCCH scheduling instance 1120.

In some embodiments, for ACK/NACK feedback Mode-1, if a UE 102 isconfigured with dynamic HARQ-ACK codebook for CBG-based transmissionsand more than one serving cell and the UE 102 is configured with atransmission mode supporting two CWs in at least one configured CC, ahigher layer parameter may be used to determine the number of ACK/NACKbits per PDSCH. In a non-limiting example, two HARQ-ACK bits may begenerated per PDSCH if the higher layer parameter is set FALSE; oneHARQ-ACK bit is generated otherwise.

In some embodiments, for ACK/NACK feedback Mode-2, if a UE 102 isconfigured with dynamic HARQ-ACK codebook for CBG-based transmissionsand more than one serving cell and the UE 102 is configured with atransmission mode supporting two CWs in at least one configured CC, amaximum number of CBGs may be denoted as below.N _(HARQ-ACK) ^(CBG,max,i,j)

The larger value of the maximum number of CBGs configured by higherlayers for the CW j,j=0, 1 on a CC i should be the same for all the CCsso as to avoid the misalignment on the size of HARQ-ACK codebook whenone of scheduled PDSCH is missed at UE 102 side due to the uncertaintyof CC(s) where the missed PDSCH(s) is scheduled by gNB 105. In anotherdesign, to removing this restriction and allow different maximum numberof CBGs for different CWs and CCs, the UE 102 shall assume the totalHARQ-ACK codebook size is determined as below.Q ^(ACK) =N1·W ^(T-DAI)

In the above, N1 denotes the maximum value of N_(HARQ-ACK) ^(CBG,max,i)among all the configured CCs and the CWs and W^(T-DAI) denotes the valueof total DAI field. A UE 102 may transmit a NACK or a DTX (in case oftri-state HARQ-ACK information) for the CBGs it did not receive. In someother designs, the value of “N” may be dynamically indicated by means ofDCI format, N∈N_(HARQ-ACK) ^(CBG,max,i). As one example, the DCI formatmay be one uplink grant used for the scheduling of PUSCH in one UL CC.

In some embodiments, for ACK/NACK feedback Mode-3, a maximum number ofCBGs N_(HARQ-ACK) ^(CBG,max,i) may be configured as N_(HARQ-ACK)^(CBG,max,i)=N₂ by higher layers regardless of the number of CWs on CCi. It should be noticed that, although different number of CWs may beconfigured for PDSCH on different CCs, the value of N_(HARQ-ACK)^(CBG,max,i) (i≥0) for CC i should be same for all the configured CCs toaddress the payload size misalignment issue. Additionally, the N2 CBG issplit across two CWs may e.g. based on the scheduled TBS, or number oflayers, or combinations of them. With this approach, the total HARQ-ACKcodebook size O^(ACK) is determined as follows.O ^(ACK) −N2·W ^(T-DAI)

In some embodiments, separate DAI processes, including counter DAI andtotal DAI, may be used to determine HARQ-ACK sub-codebooks separatelyfor TB-based and CBG-based transmissions and then concatenated fortransmissions. To avoid misalignment on the size of concatenatedHARQ-ACK payload due to DCI miss-detection at UE 102, some fields may beincluded in the DCI format for TB-level scheduling to indicate thenumber of CBG-based PDSCH transmissions. Correspondingly, some fieldsmay be included in the DCI format for CBG-level scheduling to indicatethe number of TB-based PDSCH transmissions as well.

In some embodiments, the UE 102 may indicate the number of ACK orcontinuous ACKs among the multiple ACK/NACK responses by applyingACK/NACK Mode-2 operation for N_(HARQ-ACK) ^(CBG,max,i) CBGs on CC iaccording to the following table, wherein K=┌log₂ N_(HARQ-ACK)^(CBG,max,i)┐.

Number of ACK among multiple ACK/NACK responses for CBGs of one PDSCHb(0), b(1), . . . , b(K − 1) 0 or None 0, 0, . . . , 0, 0 1 0, 0, . . ., 0, 1 2 0, 0, . . . , 1, 1 . . . . . . N 1, 1, . . . , 1, 1

In some embodiments, a “NACK-region” ACK/NACK feedback approach isdisclosed. In this design, the CBG ACK/NACK information indicates to gNB105 a set of CBGs with “NACK”, which corresponds to a starting CBG(CBG_(START)) and a length in terms of contiguous CBGs with “NACK”feedback (L_(CBGs)≥1). The NACK indication value (NIV) may be defined asbelow.if (L _(CBGS)−1)≤└N _(HARQ-ACK) ^(CBG,max)/2┘, then NIV=N _(HARQ-ACK)^(CBG,max)(L _(CBGs)−1)+CBG_(START)else N _(HARQ-ACK) ^(CBG,max)(N _(HARQ-ACK) ^(CBG,max) −L _(CBGs)+1)+(N_(HARQ-ACK) ^(CBG,max)−1−CBG_(START))

This approach may be particularly attractive for large TBS with amountof CBGs (e.g. several tens CBGs) and can effectively reduce the ACK/NACKcodebook size to O^(ACK) bits.

O^(ACK) = ⌈log₂(N_(HARQ − ACK)^(CBG, ma x)(N_(HARQ − ACK)^(CBG, ma x) + 1)/2)⌉

An example in FIG. 12 illustrates the diagram 1200 to be applied toreduce the ACK/NACK payload by indicating a first “NACK” CBG and the gapbetween the first “NACK” 1210 CBG and a last “NACK” CBG 1230 for a givenCW or PDSCH transmission. Assuming the number of total CBGs N_(HARQ-ACK)^(CBG,max,i) is 20, then the “NACK-region” HARQ-ACK indication approach(i.e. the starting position of a first CBG 1210 and duration of K+1 CBGsto point to an ending position of a last CBG 1230) can effectivelyreduce the payload from 20 bits to 6 bits, i.e. 70% reduction. It shouldbe noted that the UE 102 may need to report “NACK” for the CBGs eventhey are decoded successfully (i.e. ACK) between the first CBG 1210 withNACK and the last CBG 1230 with NACK to minimize the HARQ-ACK payload.

In some embodiments, a tree-structure-based ACK/NACK feedback method isprovided to reduce the ACK/NACK payload for CBG-based operation. Themethod includes generation of a tree structure by aggregating contiguousCBGs with varied aggregation levels (ALs) and arrangement of them in ahierarchical manner, wherein a parent node with CBG AL of K includes twochildren nodes with an approximately same CBG AL. In some embodiments,the AL for each node may be an even number, although the scope ofembodiments is not limited in this respect. In some embodiments, the ALfor each node may be an odd number, although the scope of embodiments isnot limited in this respect. The UE 102 may report the node index thathas the smallest CBG AL in the CBG tree but still consists of the lowestand highest CBG indices with “NACK” feedback.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of tree-structure-based ACK/NACK feedbackscheme where eight CBGs is configured by higher layers for PDSCHtransmission. In this example, the largest grouping is 8 CBGs, arrangedto form contiguous CBG segments. The next grouping is formed of 4 CBGsarranged continuous to each other as child nodes of parent node of 8CBGs. By having the CBGs continuous and treed, the ACK/NACK payload canbe reduced. For example, assuming that decoding failure happens for CBG#2 1310 and CBG #3 1320. Then, using this tree-based ACK/NACK feedback,then UE feedback node index “10” i.e. “1010” with reducing 50% ACK/NACKpayload compared to bit map method that needs 8 bits. Note that allzeros state is reserved to indicate that all CBGs are successfullydecoded.

In some embodiments, a method is provided to report the selectedCBG-based HARQ-ACK out of N CCs/subframes or scheduled PDSCHtransmissions. With this approach, M (M≥1) out of N PDSCH transmissionsacross the CCs configured with CBG operations are selected to reportCBG-based HARQ-ACK along with a corresponding L-bit label indexed in theorder of increasing CC index wherein L=┌log₂ N┐. For the other CBG-basedPDSCH transmissions that are associated with a same UL slot for HARQ-ACKfeedback, 1 or 2-bits TB-level HARQ-ACK feedback is used. The value of“M” may be configured by higher layers or alternatively is fixed inspecification (such as M=1 or other number).

In some embodiments, FDD with semi-static HARQ-ACK codebookdetermination may be used. The parameter N may denote the number of CCsconfigured with CBG-based operations. In some embodiments in whichdynamic HARQ-ACK codebook determination is used, N may denote the valueof the total DAI that denotes the total number of (CC, slot)−pair(s).

FIG. 14 provides an example of UCI format for CBG-based transmissionswith concatenation of two CBG-based HARQ-ACK feedback 1410 and 1420 andTB-level HARQ-ACK bits 1430-1440. In particular, it is assumed that M=2and N=8 are configured for a UE 102 with the semi-static HARQ-ACKcodebook. With this assumption, the bits number of field 1450 and 1460may be determined as L=┌log₂ N┐=3.

In some embodiments, a method for transmission of HARQ-ACK bits forCBG-based PDSCH transmissions in a radio communication system maycomprise determination, by the UE 102, of one of ACK/NACK feedback modesconfigured by higher layers or L1 signaling. The method may furthercomprise generation, by the UE, the HARQ-ACK bits at least based on thedetermined HARQ-ACK feedback modes.

In some embodiments, in an ACK/NACK feedback mode (which may be referredto, without limitation, as Mode-1), cross-CBG ACK/NACK bundling may beperformed per CW across all CBGs by a logical AND operation whichresults in 1 or 2 ACK/NACK bits. In some embodiments, in an ACK/NACKfeedback mode (which may be referred to, without limitation, as Mode-2),cross-CW ACK/NACK bundling may be performed by spatial bundling acrossmultiple CWs by a logical AND operation. In some embodiments, in anACK/NACK feedback mode (which may be referred to, without limitation, asMode-3), ACK/NACK multiplexing may be performed to generate ACK/NACKbits for all CBGs and then sequentially concatenated in increasing orderof CBG index for each CW and then in increasing order of CW index.

In some embodiments, a DCI format may include a total DAI field and/or acounter DAI field. In some embodiments, a value of total DAI in DCIformats may denote a total number of {CCs, slot} pairs in which PDSCHtransmission(s) associated with PDCCH or PDCCH indicating DL SPS releaseis present up to the present PDCCH scheduling instance determined by thelargest subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the aggregated CCs, shall be updatedfrom PDCCH scheduling instance to PDCCH scheduling instance. In someembodiments, a value of the counter DAI in DCI formats may denote anaccumulative number of PDCCH across CCs with assigned PDSCHtransmission(s) and PDCCH indicating DL SPS release up to the presentPDCCH scheduling instance.

In some embodiments, separate DAI processes, including counter DAI andtotal DAI, may be used to determine HARQ-ACK sub-codebooks separatelyfor TB-based and CBG-based transmissions and then concatenated fortransmissions. In some embodiments, if a UE 102 is configured withdynamic HARQ-ACK codebook for CBG-based transmissions and more than oneserving cells and the UE 102 is configured with a transmission modesupporting two CWs in at least one configured CC, a higher layerparameter may be used to determine the number of ACK/NACK bits perPDSCH.

In some embodiments, the UE 102 may indicate the number of ACK orcontinuous ACKs among the multiple ACK/NACK responses by applyingACK/NACK Mode-2 operation for N_(HARQ-ACK) ^(CBG,max,i) CBGs on CC. Insome embodiments, a “NACK-region” may be used for ACK/NACK feedback. TheCBG ACK/NACK information may indicate, to the gNB 105, a set of CBGswith “NACK”, which corresponds to a starting CBG (CBG_(START)) and alength in terms of contiguous CBGs with “NACK” feedback (L_(CBGs)≥1).

In some embodiments, a tree-structure-based ACK/NACK feedback method mayinclude generation of a tree structure by aggregating contiguous CBGswith varied aggregation levels (ALs) and arrange them in a hierarchicalmanner, wherein a parent node with CBG AL K includes two children nodeswith an approximately same CBG AL. The UE 102 may report the node indexthat has the smallest CBG AL in the CBG tree but still consists of thelowest and highest CBG indices with “NACK” feedback.

In some embodiments, the UE 102 may report the selected CBG-basedHARQ-ACK out of N CCs/subframes or scheduled PDSCH transmissions with acorresponding L-bit label indexed in the order of increasing CC index,wherein L=┌log₂ N┐. The other CBG-based PDSCH transmissions that areassociated with a same UL slot for HARQ-ACK feedback, 1 or 2-bitsTB-level HARQ-ACK feedback may be used.

In some embodiments, for a HARQ procedure for grant-free operation, theUE 102 may be configured one or a number of repetitions for thetransmission of the same data payload without grant as shown in 1500 inFIG. 15. If the number of transmissions is just one, then the UE 102 maytransmit UL data payload (transport block: TB) without grant and maywait for the acknowledgement (ACK/NACK) of successful receiving of theTB, wherein the ACK/NACK may be received inside an ACK/NACK windowtiming. If the number of transmissions is more than one, then the UE 102may continue the retransmissions until either an UL grant issuccessfully received by the UE 102 for the same TB, an acknowledgementof successful receiving of the TB is received by the UE 102, or thenumber of repetitions for that TB reaches a configured maximum number oftransmissions.

In some embodiments, taking into account that the UL data is transmittedwithout any grant, the gNB 105 may not have any prior informationrelated to when the UE 102 will transmit UL data to the gNB 105.Therefore when the UE 102 transmits the UL data, there should be amethod to indicate the UE identification to the gNB 105 in order tocorrectly perform the reception/decoding procedure. If HARQ isaccompanied with the grant-free operation, the UE identification is alsoneeded even for the initial transmission. There are many differentpossible ways for the UE 102, including but not limited to one or moreof: usage of existing DMRS in UL data channel (PUSCH: Physical UplinkShared Channel); usage of additional DMRS in PUSCH; usage of additionalpreamble inside PUSCH; usage of additional preamble prior to thecorresponding PUSCH; usage of a control channel (PUCCH: Physical UplinkControl Channel); usage of time and frequency resource for UL NOMAtransmission; and/or other.

In some embodiments, if DMRS is used for UE identification, additionalinformation may be embedded in the DMRS, including but not limited to asequence, pattern and/or other. Such information may be used to indicatewhich UE 102 is transmitting uplink data without grant. It is thesimilar case if a preamble is used for UE identification. The gNB 105may detect sequence information from the DMRS or preamble for the useridentification.

If HARQ is used, a target block error rate (BLER) of each transmissionmay be set up in order to maximize the system throughput and may behigher, in some cases, than a target BLER for a single transmissionwithout HARQ. The DMRS power may also be set in order to provide therelevant BLER. Therefore, the DMRS power may be comparatively smallerfor PUSCH with HARQ than that without HARQ. However, if the DMRS is usedfor the UE identification for UL grant-free operation, the DMRS power orDMRS resource may be sufficient for the UE identification at least forthe initial transmission of HARQ.

In some embodiments, it may be assumed that a same DMRS format is usedfor the UE identification. In this case, in the initial transmission ofHARQ, the DMRS may be used for both UE identification and channelestimation. As mentioned above, in the initial transmission, the gNB 105may have to perform the UE identification using the DMRS and this DMRSmay be used for channel estimation of the data decoding as well.However, in the retransmission, the gNB 105 may not have to perform theUE identification since the retransmission is determined either bysynchronous HARQ rule (pre-determined T/F resource) or grant basedretransmission. Therefore, the gNB 105 may use the DMRS only for thechannel estimation purposes in the retransmissions, in some embodiments.

In some embodiments, by the difference in the DMRS utilization betweeninitial transmission and retransmissions, the required power of the DMRSmay be different. Therefore, the UE 102 may use a higher power for theDMRS in the initial transmission and may use a relatively lower powerfor the DMRS in the retransmissions as shown in 1550 in FIG. 15. Thepower offset between DMRS for initial transmission and that forretransmission may be fixed in the specification, configured byUE-specific RRC, configured by system information, configured by MACsignaling, configured by L1 signaling and/or other.

In some embodiments, if a higher order modulation (such as 16QAM, 64QAMand/or other) is used for the data, there may be a different poweroffset in DMRS compared to data. This power offset may be fixed in thespecification, configured by UE-specific RRC, configured by systeminformation, configured by MAC signaling, configured by L1 signalingand/or other. In some embodiments, if the UE 102 does not receive anyACK/NACK information after the initial transmission, then it mayconsider that the UE identification was not successful in the gNB 105.In this case, the UE 102 may transmit the initial transmission againwith the high DMRS power.

In some embodiments, it may be assumed that DMRS format is used for theUE identification but the channel format can be differentiated for UEidentification. For support of HARQ, in the initial transmission, theDMRS may be used for both UE identification and channel estimation. Asmentioned above, in the initial transmission, the gNB 105 may have toperform the UE identification using the DMRS and this DMRS may be usedfor channel estimation of the data decoding as well. However, in theretransmission, the gNB 105 may not have to perform the UEidentification since the retransmission is determined either bysynchronous HARQ rule (pre-determined T/F resource) or grant basedretransmission. Therefore, the gNB 105 may use DMRS only for the channelestimation purposes in the retransmissions, in some embodiments.

In some embodiments, by the difference in the DMRS utilization betweeninitial transmission and retransmissions, different DMRS overhead may beused for the PUSCH transmissions as shown in 1600 in FIG. 16. In anon-limiting example, two OFDM (SC-FDMA) symbols may be used for DMRSinside one slot (14 OFDM/SC-FDMA symbols) for the retransmission, butfour OFDM (SC-FDMA) symbol may be used for DMRS inside one slot (14OFDM/SC-FDMA symbols) for the initial transmission. In this case, the UE102 may use more DMRS overhead in the initial transmission and may userelatively lower DMRS overhead in the retransmissions. The channelformat for initial transmission and that for retransmission can be knownto both the UE 102 and the gNB 105. If the UE 102 does not receive anyACK/NACK information after the initial transmission, then it mayconsider that the UE identification was not successful in the gNB 105.In this case, the UE 102 may transmit the initial transmission againwith the large DMRS density.

In some embodiments, it may be assumed that DMRS format is used for theUE identification but the channel format can be differentiated for UEidentification. For support of HARQ, in the initial transmission, theDMRS may have to be used for both UE identification and channelestimation.

As mentioned above, in the initial transmission, the gNB 105 may have toperform the UE identification using the DMRS and this DMRS may have tobe used for channel estimation of the data decoding as well. However, inthe retransmission, the gNB 105 may not have to perform the UEidentification since the retransmission is determined either bysynchronous HARQ rule (pre-determined T/F resource) or grant basedretransmission. Therefore, the gNB 105 may use DMRS only for the channelestimation purposes in the retransmissions, in some embodiments. By thedifference in the DMRS utilization between initial transmission andretransmissions, both different DMRS power and different DMRS overheadmay be used for the PUSCH transmissions between initial transmission andretransmissions as shown in 1650 in FIG. 16. If the UE 102 does notreceive any ACK/NACK information after the initial transmission, then itmay consider that the UE identification was not successful in the gNB105. In this case, the UE 102 may transmit the initial transmissionagain with the large DMRS density and high DMRS power.

In some embodiments, it may be assumed that DMRS format is used for theUE identification but the channel format can be differentiated for UEidentification. For support of HARQ, in the initial transmission, theDMRS may have to be used for both UE identification and channelestimation. For the grant free transmission, it can be configured thatmultiple (N) transmissions are allowed before the reception ofACK/NACKs, wherein N is less than or equal to the maximum number of HARQtransmissions (M) and N and M can be configured by the gNB by eitherRRC, system information, MAC signaling, L1 signaling and/or other. Inthis case, it can be configured DMRS power or DMRS density or bothdifferently for one or more of the following transmissions: firsttransmission; second transmission to (N)th transmission; (N+1)th to(M)th transmission.

In some embodiments, for grant-free operation with HARQ, the ACK/NACKchannel can be reserved for all grant-free users since too muchACK/NACKs resource may have to be reserved while only a small portion ofthe resources may actually be utilized. Therefore, efficient ACK/NACKresource utilization may be required for HARQ operation with NOMA basedgrant free transmissions.

In some embodiments, one or more of the following definitions for MAresources may be used: an MA physical resource for “grant-free” ULtransmission is comprised of a time-frequency block; an MA resource iscomprised of a MA physical resource and an MA signature. An MA signaturemay include at least one of the following: codebook/codeword; sequence;interleaver and/or mapping pattern; DM-RS; preamble; spatial or powerdimensions; and/or other.

In some embodiments, an ACK/NACK for the grant-free NOMA transmissionmay be transmitted by UE-specific PDCCH (Physical downlink controlchannel). Here the PDCCH may include a CRC masked with UE ID and the UEID can be derived from one or more following parameters: a signature IDused for grant-free NOMA transmission; time/frequency resource(s) usedfor grant-free NOMA transmission; and/or other. In case of grant-free ULNOMA transmission for RRC_CONNECTED UE 102, the C-RNTI can be used tomask CRC for the PDCCH transmission. Inside the UE-specific PDCCH, anACK/NACK field may be pre-defined and one or multiple bits can be usedfor the ACK/NACK information. The UE 102 which transmits its UL datausing grant-free NOMA transmission method may attempt to monitor thePDCCH with the corresponding ID for the ACK/NACK reception.

In some embodiments, an ACK/NACK for the grant-free NOMA transmissionmay be transmitted by common PDCCH (Physical downlink control channel).Here the PDCCH may include a CRC masked with common ID (RNTI) and thiscommon ID can be one or more of: derived from the time/frequencyresource used for grant-free NOMA transmission; configured by RRC;and/or other.

Inside the common PDCCH, there may be BITMAP information for indicatingmultiple ACK/NACKs. In this case, the BITMAP position may be mapped tothe signature ID used for grant-free NOMA transmission. There may be aone-to-one mapping between signature ID used in the same resource andthe ACK/NACK bit position of the BITMAP inside the common PDCCH and oneor multiple bits can be used for the ACK/NACK information for eachgrant-free NOMA transmission. The mapping rule of the mapping betweensignature ID and bit position of the BITMAP can be fixed in thespecification, configured by UE-specific RRC, configured by systeminformation, configured by MAC signaling, configured by L1 signalingand/or other.

In some embodiments, the UE 102 which transmits its UL data usinggrant-free NOMA transmission method may attempt to monitor the commonPDCCH with the ID defined above and find the bit position for theACK/NACK of the previous NOMA transmission of the BITMAP informationinside the common PDCCH.

In some embodiments, it may be possible that BITMAP based ACK/NACKchannel can be used for UL transmissions in multiple time/frequencyresources. For the UL channel in one time/frequency resource is mappedto one bit (or multiple bits) in the BITMAP and the UL channel in theother time/frequency resource is mapped to the other bit in the BITMAP.Therefore by using one ACK/NACK channel, ACK/NACK information formultiple time/frequency resource can be indicated. The mapping betweentime/frequency resource and the bit position of the BITMAP can be eitherfixed in the specification, configured by UE-specific RRC, configured bysystem information, configured by MAC signaling, configured by Lsignaling and/or other.

In some embodiments, a system and/or a method of wireless communicationfor a fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR) system. A UE 102 maytransmit an uplink data channel without grant from the gNB 105. In someembodiments, the uplink data channel may be transmitted using anon-orthogonal multiple access scheme. In some embodiments, the power ofthe demodulation reference signal of the uplink data channel may varydepending on whether the transmission is initial or not in HARQprocedure. In some embodiments, the power of the demodulation referencesignal of the uplink data channel may be larger for the initialtransmission in HARQ procedure. In some embodiments, a number ofresource elements of the demodulation reference signal of the uplinkdata channel may vary depending on whether the transmission is aninitial transmission or not in HARQ procedure. In some embodiments, anumber of resource elements of the demodulation reference signal of theuplink data channel may be larger for the initial transmission in HARQprocedure. In some embodiments, an acknowledgement for HARQ may bereceived by the UE 102 using UE-specific downlink control channelincluding signature ID that is used for the NOMA based uplinktransmission. In some embodiments, the acknowledgement for HARQ may bereceived by the UE 102 using common downlink control channel. In someembodiments, bitmap information may be in the common downlink controlchannel and a bit position may be mapped to the signature ID of theuplink NOMA transmissions. In some embodiments, a mapping between a bitposition of the bitmap and the signature ID may be configured by thenetwork.

In some embodiments, grant-free UL transmissions based on non-orthogonalmultiple access (NOMA) may be used in New Radio (NR) protocol. Varioususe cases may include massive connectivity for machine typecommunication (MTC), support of low overhead UL transmission schemestowards minimizing device power consumption for transmission of smalldata packets, low latency application such as ultra-reliable and lowlatency communication (URLLC) and/or other(s).

In some embodiments, for UL NOMA, multiple UEs 102 may transmit theuplink data in a shared time and frequency resource. Furthermore, forgrant-free UL NOMA, the UE 102 may attempt to transmit the data packetsmultiple times until it receives an Acknowledge (ACK) response from thegNB 105. However, in case of relatively high loading conditions whereina large number of UEs 102 may attempt to transmit the data using NOMAschemes simultaneously, consistent strong interference may be observedat the gNB 105 receiver, which may result in decoding failure anddegraded performance. FIG. 17 illustrates a decoding failure issue dueto consistent strong interference.

In some embodiments, power control mechanisms may be used in which theUE 102 is informed to adjust transmit power. This may help to reduce ormitigate interference from system level perspective, in some cases. Insome embodiments, DM-RS sequence and antenna port (AP) selection for ULNOMA transmission with cyclic prefix-orthogonal frequency-divisionmultiplexing (CP-OFDM) based waveform may be used.

In some embodiments, in case of relatively high loading conditionswherein a large number of UEs 102 may attempt to transmit the data usingNOMA schemes simultaneously, consistent strong interference may beobserved at the gNB 105 receiver, which may result in decoding failureand degraded performance. In some embodiments, the gNB 105 may adjusttransmit power for one UE 102 or a group of UEs 102 in the system tomitigate and control the intra-cell interference for UL NOMAtransmission.

In some embodiments, a transmit power control command can be included inthe downlink control information (DCI) carrying UL grant when switchingfrom grant free to grant based UL transmission. In some scenarios, thegNB 105 may detect preamble or Demodulation reference signal (DM-RS)sequences from multiple UEs 102 successfully, but may fail to decode thepacket which is associated with the detected preamble ID or DM-RSsequence ID. In some cases, the gNB 105 may send a DCI carrying a ULgrant to one or a group of UEs 102 so as to switch from grant free togrant based transmission. Further, for grant based transmission, the gNB105 may schedule the UE 102 to transmit the uplink data in an orthogonalmultiple access (OMA) or NOMA manner. For both cases, the gNB 105 maymanage interference to a well-controlled level. For example, the gNB 105may select a number of UEs 102 in a shared time and frequency resource.

In some embodiments, for power control command in the UL grant, the UE102 may perform an accumulation on the transmit power adjustment inaccordance with a parameter indicated in the UL grant. When the UE 102switches from grant free to grant based transmission, the UE 102 mayreset the accumulation.

In some embodiments, if the DCI is for a single UE 102, then the DCI maybe transmitted by the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) whichincludes the UE-specific ID either in the payload or by masking it withcyclic redundancy check (CRC) of the PDCCH. Here the UE-specific ID canbe either the ID that the NW assigned previously, or the signature IDthat the UE 102 used (for instance, a time and frequency resource index,DM-RS index and/or other).

In some embodiments, if the DCI is for a group of UEs 102, then the DCImay be transmitted by the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)which includes the group-specific ID either in the payload or by maskingit with CRC of the PDCCH. Here the group-specific ID can be either theID that the NW assigned previously, or the group ID of signatures thatthe group of UEs 102 used (for instance, a time and frequency resourceindex for the corresponding UL NOMA transmission and/or other).

In some embodiments, a transmit power control command can be included ina group common DCI, which can target for one UE 102 or a group of UEs102. In this case, the gNB 105 may adjust the transmit power for one UE102 or a group of UEs 102 based on the measurement from preamble orDM-RS. This option may be suitable for the UL NOMA with blindrepetition.

It should be noted that Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) whichis used to mask cyclic redundancy check (CRC) for physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) can be predefined in specification or configuredby higher layers via NR minimum system information (MSI), NR remainingminimum system information (RMSI), NR other system information (OSI) orradio resource control (RRC) signaling. Alternatively, RNTI can bederived in accordance with the time and frequency resource used for theNOMA transmission. In this case, multiple UEs 102 that transmit the ULdata in a same time and frequency resource may monitor and decode thisgroup common DCI carrying power control command. After successfulreception of this power control command, the UE 102 may adjust and/oraccumulate transmit power in accordance with the parameter indicated inthe DCI.

In some embodiments, for RRC_CONNECTED mode UEs 102, the bit(s) in thegroup common DCI that UE 102 are to follow for transmit power adjustmentmay be configured by higher layers via radio resource control (RRC)signaling. Alternatively, the bits(s) in the group common DCI that theUE 102 is to follow for transmit power adjustment may be determined inaccordance with the time and/or frequency resource index and/or preambleor DM-RS ID associated with UL NOMA transmission.

In some embodiments, for RRC_IDLE mode UEs 102, the bit(s) in the groupcommon DCI that the UE 102 is to should follow for transmit poweradjustment may be determined in accordance with the time and/orfrequency resource index and/or preamble or DM-RS ID associated with ULNOMA transmission. FIG. 18 illustrates an example of bitmap for TPC fora group of UEs 102 that transmit the UL data in a same time andfrequency resource. In the example, when the UE 102 transmits DM-RS withID #0, it may follow TPC #0 for transmit power adjustment. Further, whenthe UE 102 transmits DM-RS with ID #1, it may follow TPC #1 for transmitpower adjustment. Note that the value N shown in FIG. 18 may bepredefined in a specification (for instance, defined in accordance withthe total number of DM-RS sequence in a physical resource) or configuredby higher layers via MSI, RMSI, OSI or RRC signaling.

In some embodiments, a transmit power control command may be included ina DL control message, which may be carried in a physical downlink sharedchannel (PDSCH). The PDSCH can be scheduled by a PDCCH, wherein CRC ismasked with a RNTI which can be predetermined in the specification orconfigured by higher layers via MSI, RMSI, OSI or RRC signaling ordetermined in accordance with the time/frequency resource used for theUL NOMA transmission.

In some embodiments, the PDSCH may include a Medium Access Control (MAC)layer Protocol Data Unit (PDU), wherein a MAC sub-header may include theUE ID or partial ID including preamble or DM-RS sequence index. When theDL control message is used for UL grant for switching from grant-free togrant based transmission, a transmit power control command can beexplicitly indicated in the UL grant. In FIG. 18, 1850 illustrates anexample of a MAC DL control message for grant based transmission. Notethat after successful decoding of this UL grant, the UE 102 may (and/orshall) reset the accumulation for transmit power control. In someembodiments, the message 1850 may not necessarily include one or more ofthe parameters shown in FIG. 18. In some embodiments, the message 1850may include one or more additional parameters not shown in FIG. 18.

In some embodiments, in an NR protocol, when CP-OFDM based waveform isused for physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), Pseudo-Noise (PN) maybe employed for DM-RS sequence generation. For grant free ULtransmission, multiple access (MA) signature including DM-RS ID may beconfigured by higher layers or randomly selected by a UE 102 ordetermined in accordance with UE ID. In the non-limiting example 1900shown in FIG. 19, type 1 and type 2 DM-RS configurations are defined forDM-RS pattern for UL transmission with CP-OFDM based waveform. Further,additional DM-RS can be configured in the later part of slot to providebetter channel estimation performance for certain scenarios, includingbut not limited to high speed use cases.

In some embodiments, DM-RS sequence selection for UL NOMA transmissionwith CP-OFDM based waveform may be performed. In some embodiments,additional DM-RS symbol(s) may be present for UL NOMA transmission.Further, the position of additional DM-RS symbol(s) and the number ofadditional DM-RS symbols for UL NOMA transmission may be predefined inthe specification or configured by higher layers via MSI, RMSI, OSI orRRC signaling.

In some embodiments, whether additional DM-RS symbol(s) are present forUL NOMA transmission or not may be configured by the cell-specific orgroup-specific system information, wherein the system information can beeither NR minimum system information (MSI), NR remaining minimum systeminformation (RMSI), or NR other system information (OSI). Thisconfiguration can be defined per use case group. For example, if theNOMA transmission is for eMBB use case, then the gNB 105 may assume thatthere can be some UEs 102 with high Doppler speed and additional DM-RSsymbol may be required. So in this case, the NW may configure additionalDM-RS symbol for the eMBB use case. If the group-specific systeminformation is used for each use case, the different system informationblock (SIB) can have the parameter to configure whether additional DM-RSsymbol is present for UL NOMA transmission or not (for instance, SIB Xfor mMTC and SIB Y for URLLC).

In some embodiments, DM-RS sequence(s) for UL NOMA transmission may bedefined as a function of one or more following parameters: scrambling ID(e.g., virtual or physical cell ID), UE ID (for instance, Cell RadioNetwork Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI), or IMSI), time resource (forinstance, symbol/slot/subframe/frame index) or frequency resource orparameter(s) (for instance, an offset) configured by higher layers ordynamically indicated in the DCI or a combination thereof.

In a non-limiting example, an initialization seed of DM-RS sequencegeneration can be given as below or by a similar relationship/formula.c _(init)=(n _(s)+1)·(2n _(ID) ^(n) ^(SCID) ⁾+1)·2¹⁶ +n _(SCID)

In the above, n_(s) is a slot index, n_(ID) ^((i)) is a scrambling ID,and i=0, 1. In addition, n_(SCID)=0, 1, which may be configured byhigher layers or indicated in the DCI in UL grant or a combinationthereof. In addition, n_(ID) ^((i))=n_(ID) ^(CELL) if no value forn_(ID) ^((i)) is provided by higher layers.

In some embodiments, in cases in which the UE 102 is configured torandomly select DM-RS sequence for UL NOMA transmission with CP-OFDMbased waveform, a set of values for the parameter (for instance, thescrambling ID and/or n_(SCID)) which is used for DM-RS sequencegeneration may be configured by higher layers via UE specific RRCsignaling. Further, the UE 102 may randomly select one value from theset of values and corresponding scrambling ID for the parameter togenerate DM-RS sequence.

In some embodiments, the UE 102 may be configured with a parameter withvalue “x”. In this case, the UE 102 may randomly select one value fromvalue [x, x+N] for DM-RS sequence generation, wherein N may bepredefined in the specification or configured by higher layers via MSI,RMSI, OSI or RRC signaling. In a non-limiting example, an initial valuefor x=0, N=9 may be configured by higher layers. In another non-limitingexample, the UE 102 may randomly select the parameter from [0, 9] forDM-RS sequence generation.

In some embodiments, an antenna port index used for the transmission ofDM-RS sequence and data channel and/or UL control channel can bepredetermined in the specification or configured by higher layers via UEspecific RRC signaling or randomly selected by the UE 102 or determinedin accordance with UE ID (e.g., C-RNTI or IMSI) and/or time/frequencyresource index and/or physical or virtual cell ID. In one option, a sameantenna port index may be employed for DM-RS and data transmission forUL NOMA with repeated transmission. As a further extension (which mayfurther randomize the interference, in some cases), different antennaport indexes may be used for the transmission of DM-RS and data channel.For instance, antenna port index hopping may be employed for initial andretransmission for grant free UL NOMA.

In some embodiments, the antenna port index hopping pattern may bepredefined in the specification, configured by higher layers via MSI,RMSI, OSI or RRC signaling or dynamically indicated in the DCI or acombination thereof. Alternatively, the antenna port index hoppingpattern for the transmission of DM-RS and data for initial andretransmission can be determined in accordance with UE ID (e.g., C-RNTIor IMSI) and/or time/frequency resource index and/or physical or virtualcell ID. In a non-limiting example, the antenna port index or comboffset used for the DM-RS and data transmission can be determined asbelow or by a similar relationship/formula.I _(AP)(k)=mod(f(I _(AP)(0),n _(s))/N)

In the above, n_(s) is the slot index, N is the total number of antennaports used for the DM-RS and data transmission, I_(AP)(k) is the antennaport index for the kth transmission. In addition, I_(AP)(0) is theantenna port index for initial transmission, which may be randomlyselected by the UE 102.

In some embodiments, the antenna port index hopping can apply for type 1and/or type 2 DM-RS configuration, CP-OFDM based waveform and/orDiscrete Fourier Transformation-Spread-Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiplexing (DFT-s-OFDM) based waveform. If additional DM-RS is alsoused for UL NOMA transmission, intra-slot AP index hopping or comb indexhopping may be employed. For instance, different comb offsets may beapplied for the DM-RS transmission in two symbols within one slot.

In FIG. 19, an example 1950 of antenna port index hopping for initialand retransmission for UL NOMA is shown. In the example 1950, theantenna port index or comb offset 0 is used for initial transmission.With antenna port index hopping, antenna port index or comb offset 1 maybe used for first blind retransmission.

In some embodiments, in 5G and/or NR, the gNB 105 may send a transmitpower command via a downlink (DL) control message for grant-free uplink(UL) non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA). In some embodiments, the DLcontrol message may be a downlink control information (DCI) carrying ULgrant when switching from grant free to grant based UL transmission, orgroup common DCI or the DL control message carried by a physicaldownlink shared channel (PDSCH). In some embodiments, a Radio NetworkTemporary Identifier (RNTI) which is used to mask cyclic redundancycheck (CRC) for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carrying thegroup common DCI can be predefined in specification or configured byhigher layers via NR minimum system information (MSI), NR remainingminimum system information (RMSI), NR other system information (OSI) orradio resource control (RRC) signaling. In some embodiments, forRRC_CONNECTED mode UEs 102, the bit(s) in the group common DCI that theUE 102 is to follow for transmit power adjustment may be configured byhigher layers via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. In someembodiments, for RRC_IDLE mode UEs 102, the bit(s) in the group commonDCI that the UE 102 is to follow for transmit power adjustment may bedetermined in accordance with the time and/or frequency resource indexand/or preamble or Demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) ID associatedwith UL NOMA transmission. In some embodiments, additional DM-RSsymbol(s) may be always present for UL NOMA transmission; wherein theposition of additional DM-RS symbol(s) and the number of additionalDM-RS symbols for UL NOMA transmission may be predefined in thespecification or configured by higher layers via MSI, RMSI, OSI or RRCsignaling. In some embodiments, whether additional DM-RS symbol(s) arepresent for UL NOMA transmission or not may be configured by thecell-specific or group-specific system information, where the systeminformation can be either NR minimum system information (MSI), NRremaining minimum system information (RMSI), or NR other systeminformation (OSI). In some embodiments, a set of values for theparameter which is used for DM-RS sequence generation may be configuredby higher layers via UE specific RRC signaling. Further, the UE 102 mayrandomly select one value from the set of values for the parameter togenerate DM-RS sequence. In some embodiments, the UE 102 may randomlyselect one value from value [x, x+N] for DM-RS sequence generation,wherein N can be predefined in the specification or configured by higherlayers via MSI, RMSI, OSI or RRC signaling. In some embodiments, anantenna port index used for the transmission of DM-RS sequence and datachannel and/or UL control channel may be predetermined in thespecification or configured by higher layers via UE specific RRCsignaling or randomly selected by the UE 102 or determined in accordancewith UE ID. In some embodiments, same or different antenna port indexmay be employed for DM-RS and data transmission for UL NOMA withrepeated transmission. In some embodiments, an antenna port indexhopping pattern may be predefined in the specification, configured byhigher layers via MSI, RMSI, OSI or RRC signaling or dynamicallyindicated in the DCI or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, theantenna port index hopping pattern for the transmission of DM-RS anddata for initial and retransmission may be determined in accordance withUE ID (for instance, C-RNTI or IMSI) and/or time/frequency resourceindex and/or physical or virtual cell ID.

In some embodiments, a grant-free transmission mode may assume that theUE 102 transmits a signal without any explicit UL grant from the gNB105. In addition, the UE 102 may be free to select one or more followingparameters for transmission (resource allocation, payload size,modulation, transmission power, MA (Multiple Access) signature and/orother) on its own and may signal, to the gNB 105, the chosentransmission parameters by control signaling. Here, an MA signature mayinclude one or more of: a codebook/codeword, a sequence, an interleaverpattern and/or mapping pattern, one or more demodulation referencesignals, a preamble, a spatial-dimension, a power-dimension and/orother(s).

In some embodiments, a system may set a rule for resource selection forusers with grant-free operation in order to reduce the amount ofparameters that a grant-free user is allowed to use for control/datatransmissions. One or more of the following rules (and/or other rules)may be defined in order to simplify the procedure for selection oftransmission resources for grant-free users and to provide a gNB 105functionality to control grant-free resource overloading (number ofpossible grant-free users in the same transmission resources): afrequency allocation selection rule, a time allocation selection rule,an MA signature configuration, a modulation and/or payload restriction,a transmission power level and/or other. In some embodiments, therules/restrictions above may be one or more of: cell-specific; appliedto some or all grant-free users; group specific to describe resourceselection rule for a specified group of grant-free users; user specificto configure resource selection procedure for a specific grant-freeuser, predefined in the specification; configured by UE-specific RRC;configured by system information; configured by MAC signaling;configured by L1 signaling and/or other.

In some embodiments, the gNB 105 may configure a rule for grant-freeresource selection procedure. The rule can define a frequency resourcesub-pool for grant-free users. The gNB 105 may configure a frequencysub-pool that is allowed to use for grant-free data transmission by asingle user or a set of users. The gNB 105 may define this sub-pool byindexing the part from the total frequency resource pool allocated forgrant-free operation.

In some embodiments, one or more of the following frequency sub-poolconfiguration options may be used. In one option, start and end PRBindexing may be used, wherein frequency resource sub-pool may be definedby indexing start and end PRB positions from the total frequencyresource pool. A non-limiting example of this option is illustrated as2010 in FIG. 20.

In another option, first PRB index+number of PRB may be used, whereinfrequency resource sub-pool may be defined by indexing start PRB andnumber of PRBs from the total frequency resource pool. A non-limitingexample of this option is illustrated as 2020 in FIG. 20.

In another option, bitmap based frequency resource sub-poolconfiguration may be used, wherein frequency resource sub-pool may bedefined by indexing selected PRB indexes from the total frequencyresource pool by a bitmap. A non-limiting example of this option isillustrated as 2030 in FIG. 20.

In another option, subpart based frequency resource sub-poolconfiguration may be used. Total frequency resource pool may be dividedon non-overlapped, equal size parts called frequency subparts which maybe continuously allocated in the total pool. Each frequency subpart isindicated by an index. A frequency sub-pool may be defined by selectionof N frequency subpart index, wherein N>=1. A non-limiting example ofthis option is illustrated as 2040 in FIG. 20.

In another option, non-contiguous frequency resource sub-poolconfiguration may be used. DL or UL frequency resource allocation typemay be used to indicate the resource sub-pool in frequency. In oneexample, a frequency allocation type based on resource block group (RBG)can be used to indicate the sub-pool resources, which may notnecessarily be contiguous-in-frequency. In some embodiments, the RBGsize may be predefined in the specification (for instance, depending ontotal frequency resource pool bandwidth).

In some embodiments, the frequency resource sub-pool may be assigned bya gNB 105 to a UE 102 or a group of UEs 102 by either systeminformation, UE-specific RRC, MAC signaling, or L1 signaling or acombination thereof. Once a frequency sub-pool is defined, the gNB 105may define a frequency resource selection rule inside the frequencysub-pool for grant-free UEs 102.

In some embodiments, a frequency resource selection rule may be based onone or more of the following techniques and/or other techniques. In sometechniques that use fully dynamic frequency resource selection,grant-free users may be allowed to select any frequency resourceallocation inside the provided frequency resource sub-pool with resourcegranularity N, wherein N is configured by UE-specific RRC, configured bysystem information, configured by MAC signaling or configured by L1signaling, or a combination thereof, and N>=i. For example, if thesub-pool size is 6 PRBs and the configured granularity is 2 PRB, thenthere may be three blocks of 2 PRBs inside the sub-pool and the UE canchoose from one to three candidates for the grant-free transmission.

In some techniques that use limited dynamic frequency resourceselection, grant-free users may be allowed to select a frequencyresource allocation with fixed maximum size−K, inside the providedfrequency resource sub-pool with resource granularity N, wherein N and Kmay be configured by UE-specific RRC, configured by system information,configured by MAC signaling or configured by L1 signaling or acombination thereof, N>=1, K>=1 and K>=N. For example, if the sub-poolsize is 6 PRBs and the configured granularity is 2 PRB, then there canbe three blocks of 2 PRBs inside the sub-pool and the UE 102 may choosefrom one to K candidates for the grant-free transmission.

In some techniques that use pre-configured frequency resource selection,grant-free users may be allowed to transmit in pre-configured frequencyresources inside the provided frequency resource sub-pool with resourcegranularity. Alternatively, the frequency resource inside the providedfrequency resource sub-pool can be determined in accordance with UE ID,e.g., IMSI or Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI), physicalor virtual cell ID or time index (symbol/slot/frame) for the resourcesub-pool.

In some embodiments, a configuration may be based on start and end PRBindexing, wherein frequency resource allocation is defined by indexingstart and end PRB positions from the provided frequency resourcesub-pool. In some embodiments, a configuration may be based on first PRBindex+number of PRB, wherein frequency resource allocation is defined byindexing start and end PRB positions from the provided frequencyresource sub-pool. In some embodiments, a configuration may be based ona bitmap configuration, wherein frequency resource allocation is definedby a bitmap from the provided frequency resource sub-pool. On thisbitmap a single bit can represent as N PRBs, wherein N may be configuredby UE-specific RRC, configured by system information, configured by MACsignaling or configured by L1 signaling, N>=1 or a combination thereof.In some embodiments, DL or UL resource allocation type may be used toindicate the configuration from the provided frequency resourcesub-pool.

In some embodiments, after frequency resource configuration, a gNB 105may need to identify which frequency resources are used by a UE 102. Incase that the UE 102 is configured to transmit in pre-configuredfrequency resources, the gNB 105 may already know the frequency resourceallocation. Alternatively, control signaling may be used by a UE 102 totransmit its frequency resource allocation information.

In some embodiments, it may be assumed that a gNB 105 can configure arule for grant-free resource selection procedure. The rule can define atime resource sub-pool for grant-free users. A gNB 105 may configure thetime sub-pool that is allowed to use for grant-free data transmission bya single user or a set of users. In particular, it defines this sub-poolby indexing the part from the total time resource pool allocated forgrant-free operation. Time resource sub-pool may include timestamps withgranularity either subframe level, slot level or symbol level.

In some embodiments, time sub-pool configuration options may be based onone or more of the followings techniques. Non-limiting examples areshown in FIG. Z3.

In some techniques that use full time resource sub-pool configuration,all time resources available for grant-free transmission are allowed touse. In some techniques that use bitmap based time resource sub-poolconfiguration, a time resource sub-pool may be defined by periodicallyrepeated bitmap+offset value P, wherein P>=0. Each bit in the bitmap maybe connected to N slots and/or symbols, wherein N may be configured byUE-specific RRC, configured by system information, configured by MACsignaling or configured by L1 signaling, N>=1 or a combination thereof.

In some techniques that use equation based time resource sub-poolconfiguration, the time resource sub-pool may be defined by an equationwhich can be based on UE-specific (UE RNTI, etc.), cell-specific (CellID, etc.) and network-specific (slot number in accordance withconfigured numerology, etc.) parameters. This approach may lead torandomization of intra and inter cell interference that could improvesystem performance. A pseudo random bit generator may be used. In anon-limiting example, the following equation and/or similar equation maybe used.c(n)=c(n−9)*2{circumflex over ( )}9+c(n−6)*2{circumflex over( )}6+c(n−3)*2{circumflex over ( )}3

In the above, initially c=c_(init), with c_(init)=2{circumflex over( )}*UE RNTI+Cell ID. At a slot n_(s), using this random generator, adecimal digits could be generated using N consequently generated bitsx=decimal(c(n+n_(s)*N), . . . , c(n+n_(s)*N+N−1)), wherein n_(s) is atotal grant-free slot index, which is defined in accordance with theconfigured numerology. The value of x belongs to an interval of numbers[0:2^(N)−1]. The final decision whenever a UE 102 is allowed to operateat a time resource n_(s) may be defined in case if x>K, where K is atime occupation threshold, 0<=K<2^(N). A non-limiting example is shownas 2050 in FIG. 20.

In some techniques that use fixed time resource sub-pool configuration,a gNB 105 may directly assign specific time stamps for a separate UE 102or a group of UEs 102. Configuration options may include, but are notlimited to, an exact time stamp set signaling inside of the time windowof size P, wherein P is configured by UE-specific RRC, configured bysystem information, configured by MAC signaling, or configured by L1signaling or a combination thereof.

In some embodiments, a UE 102 may use a first available time resourcefrom the time sub-pool, in order to transmit newly arrived data packet.In cases in which time resource allocation is not signaled by agrant-free UE 102, the gNB 105 may detect the user's activity by itself.

In some embodiments, it may be assumed that a gNB 105 can configure arule for grant-free resource selection procedure. The rule may define aMA signature sub-pool for grant-free users. The rule for MA signatureselection may be designed to minimize the probability of collisionbetween simultaneously transmitted users, in some cases.

In some embodiments, collision of some MA signatures like spreadingsequence or interleaver pattern may not be a serious issue for systemperformance. On the other hand, if two or more users have samedemodulation reference signal (DM-RS) sequence, decoding may fail forall these users. Thus, the system may need to have a mechanism thatwould minimizes the number of MA signature collision cases.

In some embodiments, a gNB 105 may configure the MA signature sub-poolthat is allowed to use a grant-free data transmission by a single useror a set of users. A non-limiting example of MA signaturepre-configuration is shown in FIG. 21. The gNB 105 may define thissub-pool by indexing MA signatures. One or more of the following options(and/or other options) for MA signature sub-pool configuration may beused. In one option, full MA signature sub-pool configuration may beused, wherein all MA signatures available for grant-free transmissioncan be used. The UE 102 may choose any MA signature available.

In another option, subset based MA signature sub-pool configuration maybe used. A subset of MA signatures may be assigned for each UE 102 or agroup of UEs 102. The gNB 105 may reduce the amount of possible MAsignatures for each grant-free UE 102. Configuration options can be oneof following: direct signaling of MA signature indexes to a single UE102 or a group of UEs 102; signaling of first and last indexes fromtotal set of MA signature indexes; and/or other.

In another option, equation based MA signature sub-pool configurationmay be used. An MA signature index may be derived from a pre-definedequation which can be based on UE-specific (such as UE RNTI and/orother), cell-specific (such as physical or virtual cell ID and/or other)and network-specific (such as slot number in accordance with configurednumerology and/or other) parameters. For example, the following equationand/or similar equation may be used: MA signature index=floor(x % P). Inthis equation, P is the number of MA signatures, x is a random numberuniformly distributed from 0 to 2^(N), N is a number of bits ingenerated random number. In a non-limiting example, the random generatormay be initialized by a seed such as 2{circumflex over ( )}14*UERNTI+Cell ID and/or other.

In another option, a single value MA signature sub-pool configurationmay be used. In some cases, this may be an extreme case for MA signaturesubset configuration with only one MA signature in sub-pool.

In some embodiments, the UE 102 may randomly select one MA signaturefrom the sub-pool of MA signatures that is configured by a gNB 105.After an MA signature transmission by the UE 102, the gNB 105 may needto identify which signature is used by the UE 102. In case that the UE102 is configured to use pre-configured or pre-determined MA signature,the gNB 105 may already know it. Otherwise, one or more of the followingoptions may be used: control signaling, wherein the UE 102 may transmitits MA signature index inside a payload of control transmission thatcontains one or more grant-free data transmission parameters; blinddetection on the gNB 105 side, wherein the gNB 105 may blindly detectthe MA signature used by a grant-free user; and/or other.

In some embodiments, it may be assumed that a gNB 105 may configure arule for grant-free transmission parameters selection. The rule maydefine some restrictions on payload and modulation and coding scheme(MCS) for grant-free users. The gNB 105 may configure one or morerestrictions for payload size and modulation that are not allowed to beused for grant-free data transmission by a single user or a set ofusers.

In some embodiments, one or more of the following MCS restrictionoptions may be used: pre-configured maximum MCS, wherein the gNB 105 mayconfigure the maximum MCS that is allowed for usage by the UE 102;bitmap based, wherein the gNB 105 may send a bitmap to a UE 102indicating which MCS(s) can be used; and/or other.

In some embodiments, one or more of the following payload restrictionoptions may be used. In one option, subset of allowed payloads may bebased on one or more of: interval based, wherein payload values thatbelong to an interval [N_(min), N_(max)], where N_(min)>=0,N_(max)>N_(min) are allowed to be used; pre-configured valuesenumeration, wherein pre-configured or pre-determined set of payloadvalues are allowed to be used; and/or other. In another option, subsetof allowed code rates may be based on one or more of: interval based,wherein code rate values that belong to an interval [C_(min), C_(max)],where C_(min)>=0, C_(max)>C_(min) are allowed to be used; pre-configuredvalues enumeration, wherein a pre-configured or pre-determined set ofcode rate values are allowed to be used; and/or other.

In some embodiments, after payload and/or MCS selection rule isconfigured, a gNB 105 may need to identify which payload size and/or MCSis used by the UE 102. In cases in which the UE 102 is configured totransmit with pre-configured payload and/or modulation, the gNB 105 mayalready know these parameters. Otherwise, one or more of the followingoptions can be used: control signaling, wherein the UE 102 may transmitits payload size and/or modulation inside a payload of controltransmission; blind detection on the gNB 105 side, wherein the gNB 105may blindly detect the payload size and/or modulation used by agrant-free user; and/or other. In a non-limiting example, if twopossible modulation schemes are defined for grant-free datatransmission, a gNB 105 may use two attempts for blind decoding tounderstand what modulation is used.

In some embodiments, resource signaling may be used. In someembodiments, grant-free control channel content may be used. In someembodiments, grant-free data transmission may assume that a grant-freeUE 102 uses one or more of the rules described herein (and/or otherrules) for selection of grant-free transmission parameters. In order toinform a gNB 105 about selected transmission parameters, the UE 102 mayinform the gNB 105 by signaling of control information.

In some embodiments, for indication of the transmission format of thedata channel based on grant-free operation, control information may besent by a grant-free UE 102. One or more of the following techniques maybe used for grant-free transmission. In some techniques in which nocontrol signaling is used, UEs 102 may operate in grant-freetransmission mode without any control signaling. In this case, the gNB105 may know “a priori” parameters of transmission in accordance withconfiguration of these parameters or can blindly detect them. In sometechniques in which control signaling with reduced payload size is used,control information payload structure for a UE 102 may be configurableby a gNB 105. Transmission resource selection pre-configurations mayreduce the total amount of control information that is required totransmit by grant-free users. For example, assuming that full payloadsize is equal to N bits, frequency allocation indication uses and/orrequires K bits, in case if a gNB pre-configures frequency resourceallocation for a UE 102 then it may use and/or require N−K bits forcontrol signaling. In some techniques in which control signaling withfull payload size is used, independent from resource pre-configurationsettings, grant-free control channel payload may have enough size tosignal all possible resource allocation used for grant-free datatransmission.

In some embodiments, a gNB 105 may pre-configure resource sub-pools forgrant-free transmission. A grant-free UE 102 may send a request for agrant-free resource re-configuration procedure to a gNB 105 withparameters like minimum frequency allocation, payload size, and/orother. For example, in case if a grant-free UE 102 detects that the linkto a gNB 105 becomes noise limited and previously configured allocationis large, it can send a re-configuration request to reduce amount offrequency allocation. In another option, if the traffic pattern ischanged for a UE 102, and if a configuration for payload does not fitthe new packet sizes, it can send the re-configuration request to changethe set of allowed payload.

In some embodiments, under the assumption that the resource sub-pool isconfigured to a UE 102 for the transmission of grant-free ULtransmission based on NOMA scheme, one or more of the following options(and/or other options) may be used to determine the UL channel. In oneoption, if the resource sub-pool is configured, then the UE 102 may usethis whole resource sub-pool. While the resource size is determined, themodulation and coding scheme level can be changed depending on thepayload size. The transmission power may have to be changed according tothe modulation and coding scheme here. The non-limiting example 2200 inFIG. 22 illustrates this option.

In another option, if the resource sub-pool is configured, then the UE102 may use a portion of resource(s) inside the configured resourcesub-pool. In this case, the UE 102 may keep the modulation and codingscheme level by differentiating resource size based on the payload size.And the transmission power can be same or in the similar level fordifferent payload sizes. The non-limiting example 2250 in FIG. 22illustrates this option.

In another option, the network may configure which option the UE 102 maychoose for the transmission of grant free UL transmission between one ofthe options described above, wherein it may be configured by eithersystem information (PBCH, RMSI, or SIB), UE-specific RRC, MAC signaling,L signaling and/or other.

In some embodiments, there may be a power offset between data part andDMRS part in the grant-free UL transmissions. If a power control schemeshown in 2270 in FIG. 22 (and/or other scheme) is used, a transmissionpower can be different depending on the payload size even though thechannel condition keeps the same. Therefore, if the transmission poweris too small and it is applied to DMRS, then the channel estimationperformance can be degraded. If the transmission power is too large forDMRS, then this generates unnecessary interferences. Therefore, bydefining the power offset between DMRS and data part in the grant-freeUL transmissions, the UE 102 may use the desirable power for DMRSregardless of the data power. The example 2270 in FIG. 22 shows thepower level between DMRS and data. The power offset between DMRS anddata can be changed based on payload size and the reference offset canbe configured by the NW.

In some embodiments, a method of transmission resource configuration forUL grant-free communication may comprise one or more of: transmissionresources assigned for UL grant-free communication; procedures forgrant-free transmission resource pre-configurations; serving basestation that registers and configures grant-free users; configurablemobile nodes operating in grant-free mode; and/or other. In someembodiments, grant-free UL transmission resources may include one ormore of: time resources; frequency resources; multiple access signatureresources by which non orthogonal multiple access in UL is done; payloadsize, code rate and modulation; transmission power level; and/or other.In some embodiments, grant-free transmission resource pre-configurationprocedures may be applied for one or more of: all users covered by abase station; a group of users covered by a base station; a single usercovered by a base station; and/or other. In some embodiments, resourcepre-configuration procedures may be applied for UL grant-free frequencyresources. In some embodiments, frequency resource pre-configurationprocedures may include one or more of: frequency sub-pool configuration;frequency resource selection rule configuration; and/or other. In someembodiments, a grant-free frequency sub-pool may be configured byindexation of start and end PRB indexes from the total frequencyresource pool allocated for grant-free operation. In some embodiments, agrant-free frequency sub-pool may be configured by indexation of firstPRB index and number of PRBs from the total frequency resource poolallocated for grant-free operation. In some embodiments, a grant-freefrequency sub-pool may be configured by bitmap that indicates which PRBsare used from the total frequency resource pool allocated for grant-freeoperation. In some embodiments, a grant-free frequency sub-pool may beconfigured by subpart indexation, wherein frequency subpart isnon-overlapped, equal size sets of frequency resources which arecontinuously allocated in the total pool of grant-free frequencyresources. In some embodiments, a grant-free frequency sub-pool may beconfigured by subpart indexation, wherein frequency subpart isnon-overlapped, equal size sets of frequency resources which arenon-continuously allocated in the total pool of grant-free frequencyresources. In some embodiments, a grant-free frequency resource sub-poolmay have a minimum resource granularity of N PRBs. In some embodiments,a value of N may be configured by UE-specific RRC, configured by systeminformation, configured by MAC signaling or configured by L1 signaling.In some embodiments, grant-free users may be allowed to select frequencyany resource allocation inside provided frequency resource sub-pool. Insome embodiments, grant-free users may be allowed to select frequencyresource allocation inside provided frequency resource sub-pool withmaximum size of K PRBs. In some embodiments, a value of K may beconfigured by UE-specific RRC, configured by system information,configured by MAC signaling or configured by L1 signaling. In someembodiments, a preselected resource allocation may be configured. Insome embodiments, a fixed resource allocation may be configured. In someembodiments, a grant-free fixed frequency allocation may be configuredby indexation of start and end PRB indexes from the frequency resourcesub-pool. In some embodiments, a grant-free fixed frequency allocationmay be configured by indexation of first PRB index and number of PRBsfrom the frequency resource sub-pool. In some embodiments, a grant-freefixed frequency allocation may be configured by bitmap that indicateswhich PRBs are used from the frequency resource sub-pool. In someembodiments, a grant-free fixed frequency allocation may be configuredby subpart indexation, wherein frequency subparts may be non-overlapped,equal size sets of frequency resources which are continuously allocatedin the total pool of grant-free frequency resources. In someembodiments, a grant-free fixed frequency allocation may be configuredby subpart indexation, wherein frequency subparts may be non-overlapped,equal size sets of frequency resources which are non-continuouslyallocated in the total pool of grant-free frequency resources.

In Example 1, an apparatus of a User Equipment (UE) may comprise memory.The apparatus may further comprise processing circuitry. The processingcircuitry may be configured to decode a physical downlink controlchannel (PDCCH) that schedules a physical downlink shared channel(PDSCH) in a slot of a plurality of slots. The PDSCH may be furtherscheduled on a component carrier (CC) of a plurality of CCs. The PDCCHmay include a downlink control information (DCI) that includes: a totaldownlink assignment index (DAI) for hybrid automatic repeat requestacknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback of the PDSCH, wherein the total DAIindicates a number of pairs of CCs and slots for the HARQ-ACK feedback;and a counter DAI based on an accumulative number of other PDCCHs. Theprocessing circuitry may be further configured to attempt to decode thePDSCH received within the scheduled slot on the scheduled CC. Theprocessing circuitry may be further configured to encode the HARQ-ACKfeedback to include a bit that indicates whether the PDSCH issuccessfully decoded. A size of the HARQ-ACK feedback may be based onthe total DAI. A position of the bit within the HARQ-ACK feedback may bebased on the counter DAI. The memory may be configured to storeinformation identifying the total DAI and the counter DAI.

In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1, wherein the plurality ofCCs may be configurable to include CCs of different sub-carrierspacings. If at least some of the sub-carrier spacings are different,the total DAI may be based on a number of PDCCHs of a CC for which acorresponding sub-carrier spacing is equal to a maximum of thesub-carrier spacings.

In Example 3, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-2, wherein the total number of pairs of CCs and slots indicated by thetotal DAI may be a total number of pairs of CCs and slots that include:a PDSCH scheduled by another PDCCH, or a PDCCH that indicates a presenceof a downlink (DL) semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) release.

In Example 4, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-3, wherein the total DAI may be configurable to be different indifferent PDCCH scheduling instances.

In Example 5, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-4, wherein the PDCCH is a present PDCCH. The counter DAI may indicatean accumulative number of PDCCHs across CCs with assigned PDSCHs andPDCCHs that indicate downlink (DL) releases of semi-persistentscheduling (SPS) up to the present PDCCH.

In Example 6, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-5, wherein the PDSCH may be configurable to include one or morecodewords that include one or more codeblock groups (CBGs). The CBGs ofeach codeword may be mapped to CBG indexes. The HARQ-ACK feedback may bebased on decoding of the CBGs.

In Example 7, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-6, wherein if the codewords include different numbers of CBGs or ifthe CCs are configured for different numbers of CBGs, a HARQ-ACKcodebook size may be based on a product of: a maximum of HARQ-ACKcodebook sizes configured per CC, and the total DAI.

In Example 8, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-7, wherein the processing circuitry may be further configured todetermine, based on separate DAI processes that includes separatecounter DAIs and separate total DAIs, separate HARQ-ACK sub-codebooksfor CBG-based HARQ-ACK feedback for the CBGs and for transport block(TB)-based HARQ-ACK feedback of one or more TBs. The processingcircuitry may be further configured to encode the HARQ-ACK feedback toinclude the CBG-based HARQ-ACK feedback and the TB-based HARQ-ACKfeedback.

In Example 9, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-8, wherein the processing circuitry may be further configured todecode control signaling that indicates a HARQ-ACK feedback mode. In afirst HARQ-ACK feedback mode, the HARQ-ACK feedback may include, foreach codeword, an acknowledgement (ACK) indicator that indicates whetherat least one of the CBGs of the codeword is not successfully decoded. Ina second HARQ-ACK feedback mode, the HARQ-ACK feedback may include, foreach CBG index, an ACK indicator that indicates whether at least one ofthe CBGs mapped to the CBG index is not successfully decoded. In a thirdHARQ-ACK feedback mode, the HARQ-ACK feedback mode may include per-CBGACK indicators.

In Example 10, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-9, wherein the processing circuitry may be further configured todetermine a NACK indication value (NIV) for a NACK region that includesCBGs that are not successfully decoded. If a first number is less thanor equal to a floor function of a maximum number of CBGs divided by two(wherein the first number may be equal to a length of contiguous CBGsminus one), the NIV may be equal to a sum of: a starting CBG, and aproduct of the maximum number of CBGs and the first number. If the firstnumber is greater than the floor function of the maximum number of CBGsdivided by two, the NIV may be equal to a sum of: a third number and aproduct of a second number and the maximum number of CBGs (wherein thesecond number may be equal to the maximum number of CBGs minus thelength of contiguous CBGs plus one). The third number may be equal tothe maximum number of CBGs minus one minus the starting CBG.

In Example 11, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-10, wherein the processing circuitry may be further configured todetermine the HARQ-ACK feedback based on a tree structure based on anaggregation of contiguous CBGs with varied aggregation levels arrangedin accordance with a hierarchy. A parent node may include two childrennodes. The processing circuitry may be further configured to encode theHARQ-ACK feedback to include a node index of a smallest aggregationlevel of the tree structure.

In Example 12, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-11, wherein the processing circuitry may be further configured to, fora plurality of PDSCHs for which the UE is to encode HARQ-ACK feedback,select a portion of the plurality of PDSCHs. The PDSCHs may be onmultiple CCs. The processing circuitry may be further configured toencode the HARQ-ACK feedback for the selected portion of the PDSCHs witha bit field indexed in order of increasing CC index. A size of the bitfield may be equal to a ceiling function applied to a base-2 logarithmof a size of the plurality of PDSCHs.

In Example 13, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-12, wherein the apparatus may further include a transceiver to receivethe PDCCH. The processing circuitry may include a baseband processor todecode the PDCCH.

In Example 14, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium maystore instructions for execution by one or more processors to performoperations for communication by a generation Node-B (gNB). Theoperations may configure the one or more processors to encode a physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH) that schedules a transmission of aphysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) by the gNB to a User Equipment(UE). The PDSCH may be scheduled in a slot of a plurality of slots. ThePDSCH may be further scheduled on a component carrier (CC) of aplurality of CCs. The PDCCH may include a downlink control information(DCI) that includes: a total downlink assignment index (DAI) for hybridautomatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback of thePDSCH, wherein the total DAI indicates a total number of pairs of CCsand slots for the HARQ-ACK feedback; and a counter DAI based on anaccumulative number of other PDCCHs. The operations may furtherconfigure the one or more processors to decode the HARQ-ACK feedback. Abit of the HARQ-ACK feedback may indicate whether the PDSCH issuccessfully decoded. A position of the bit within the HARQ-ACK feedbackmay be based on the total DAI and the counter DAI.

In Example 15, the subject matter of Example 14, wherein the totalnumber of pairs of CCs and slots indicated by the total DAI may be atotal number of pairs of CCs and slots that include: a PDSCH scheduledby another PDCCH, or a PDCCH that indicates a presence of a downlink(DL) semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) release.

In Example 16, an apparatus of a User Equipment (UE) may comprisememory. The apparatus may further comprise processing circuitry. Theprocessing circuitry may be configured to decode control signaling thatindicates a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK)feedback mode for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) that isconfigurable to include one or more codewords that include one or morecodeblock groups (CBGs). The CBGs of each codeword may be mapped to CBGindexes. The processing circuitry may be further configured to attemptto decode the CBGs received in the PDSCH. The processing circuitry maybe further configured to, if a first HARQ-ACK feedback mode is indicatedby the control signaling: encode HARQ-ACK feedback to include, for eachcodeword, an acknowledgement (ACK) indicator that indicates whether atleast one of the CBGs of the codeword is not successfully decoded. Theprocessing circuitry may be further configured to, if a second HARQ-ACKfeedback mode is indicated by the control signaling: encode the HARQ-ACKfeedback to include, for each CBG index, an ACK indicator that indicateswhether at least one of the CBGs mapped to the CBG index is notsuccessfully decoded. The processing circuitry may be further configuredto, if a third HARQ-ACK feedback mode is indicated by the controlsignaling: encode the HARQ-ACK feedback to include per-CBG ACKindicators. The memory may be configured to store informationidentifying the HARQ-ACK feedback mode indicated by the controlsignaling.

In Example 17, the subject matter of Example 16, wherein if the firstHARQ-ACK feedback mode is indicated by the control signaling, the ACKindicator of each codeword may be based on a logical “and” operationapplied to per-CBG ACK indicators of the CBGs of the codeword. If thesecond HARQ-ACK feedback mode is indicated by the control signaling, theACK indicator for each CBG index may be based on a logical “and”operation applied to per-CBG ACK indicators of the CBGs mapped to theCBG index.

In Example 18, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples16-17, wherein the codewords may be mapped to codeword indexes. Theprocessing circuitry may be further configured to, if the third HARQ-ACKfeedback mode is indicated by the control signaling, encode the HARQ-ACKfeedback to include the per-CBG ACK indicators in accordance with: ifthe PDSCH includes one codeword, a concatenation of the per-CBG ACKindicators in an increasing order of the CBG indexes of the per-CBG ACKindicators; and if the PDSCH includes more than one codeword,per-codeword concatenations of the per-CBG ACK indicators of eachcodeword in an increasing order of the CBG indexes of the per-CBG ACKindicators, and a concatenation of the per-codeword concatenations in anincreasing order of the codeword indexes.

In Example 19, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples16-18, wherein the control signaling may include a downlink controlinformation (DCI) that indicates the HARQ-ACK feedback mode.

In Example 20, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples16-19, wherein the processing circuitry may be further configured todecode multiple PDCCHs that schedule multiple PDCCHs on a plurality ofcomponent carriers (CCs) of a carrier aggregation.

In Example 21, an apparatus of a generation Node-B (gNB) may comprisemeans for encoding a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) thatschedules a transmission of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)by the gNB to a User Equipment (UE). The PDSCH may be scheduled in aslot of a plurality of slots. The PDSCH may be further scheduled on acomponent carrier (CC) of a plurality of CCs. The PDCCH may include adownlink control information (DCI) that includes: a total downlinkassignment index (DAI) for hybrid automatic repeat requestacknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback of the PDSCH, wherein the total DAIindicates a total number of pairs of CCs and slots for the HARQ-ACKfeedback; and a counter DAI based on an accumulative number of otherPDCCHs. The apparatus may further comprise means for decoding theHARQ-ACK feedback. A bit of the HARQ-ACK feedback may indicate whetherthe PDSCH is successfully decoded. A position of the bit within theHARQ-ACK feedback may be based on the total DAI and the counter DAI.

In Example 22, the subject matter of Example 21, wherein the totalnumber of pairs of CCs and slots indicated by the total DAI may be atotal number of pairs of CCs and slots that include: a PDSCH scheduledby another PDCCH, or a PDCCH that indicates a presence of a downlink(DL) semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) release.

The Abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. Section 1.72(b)requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to ascertain the natureand gist of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with theunderstanding that it will not be used to limit or interpret the scopeor meaning of the claims. The following claims are hereby incorporatedinto the detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as aseparate embodiment.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus of a User Equipment (UE), theapparatus comprising: memory; and processing circuitry configured to:decode a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) that schedules aphysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in a slot of a plurality ofslots, the PDSCH further scheduled on a component carrier (CC) of aplurality of CCs, wherein the PDCCH includes a downlink controlinformation (DCI) that includes: a total downlink assignment index (DAI)for hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedbackof the PDSCH, wherein the total DAI indicates a number of pairs of CCsand slots for the HARQ-ACK feedback, and a counter DAI based on anaccumulative number of other PDCCHs; attempt to decode the PDSCHreceived within the scheduled slot on the scheduled CC; and encode theHARQ-ACK feedback to include a bit that indicates whether the PDSCH issuccessfully decoded, wherein a size of the HARQ-ACK feedback is basedon the total DAI, wherein a position of the bit within the HARQ-ACKfeedback is based on the counter DAI, wherein the memory is configuredto store information identifying the total DAI and the counter DAI. 2.The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the plurality of CCs isconfigurable to include CCs of different sub-carrier spacings, and if atleast some of the sub-carrier spacings are different, the total DAI isbased on a number of PDCCHs of a CC for which a correspondingsub-carrier spacing is equal to a maximum of the sub-carrier spacings.3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the total number of pairsof CCs and slots indicated by the total DAI is a total number of pairsof CCs and slots that include: a PDSCH scheduled by another PDCCH, or aPDCCH that indicates a presence of a downlink (DL) semi-persistentscheduling (SPS) release.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe total DAI is configurable to be different in different PDCCHscheduling instances.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:the PDCCH is a present PDCCH, and the counter DAI indicates anaccumulative number of PDCCHs across CCs with assigned PDSCHs and PDCCHsthat indicate downlink (DL) releases of semi-persistent scheduling (SPS)up to the present PDCCH.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:the PDSCH is configurable to include one or more codewords that includeone or more codeblock groups (CBGs), wherein the CBGs of each codewordare mapped to CBG indexes, and the HARQ-ACK feedback is based ondecoding of the CBGs.
 7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein: ifthe codewords include different numbers of CBGs or if the CCs areconfigured for different numbers of CBGs, a HARQ-ACK codebook size isbased on a product of: a maximum of HARQ-ACK codebook sizes configuredper CC, and the total DAI.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 6, theprocessing circuitry further configured to: determine, based on separateDAI processes that includes separate counter DAIs and separate totalDAIs, separate HARQ-ACK sub-codebooks for CBG-based HARQ-ACK feedbackfor the CBGs and for transport block (TB)-based HARQ-ACK feedback of oneor more TBs; and encode the HARQ-ACK feedback to include the CBG-basedHARQ-ACK feedback and the TB-based HARQ-ACK feedback.
 9. The apparatusaccording to claim 6, the processing circuitry further configured to:decode control signaling that indicates a HARQ-ACK feedback mode,wherein in a first HARQ-ACK feedback mode, the HARQ-ACK feedbackincludes, for each codeword, an acknowledgement (ACK) indicator thatindicates whether at least one of the CBGs of the codeword is notsuccessfully decoded, wherein in a second HARQ-ACK feedback mode, theHARQ-ACK feedback includes, for each CBG index, an ACK indicator thatindicates whether at least one of the CBGs mapped to the CBG index isnot successfully decoded, and wherein in a third HARQ-ACK feedback mode,the HARQ-ACK feedback mode includes per-CBG ACK indicators.
 10. Theapparatus according to claim 6, the processing circuitry furtherconfigured to: determine a NACK indication value (NIV) for a NACK regionthat includes CBGs that are not successfully decoded, wherein if a firstnumber is less than or equal to a floor function of a maximum number ofCBGs divided by two, the first number equal to a length of contiguousCBGs minus one: the NIV is equal to a sum of: a starting CBG, and aproduct of the maximum number of CBGs and the first number, wherein ifthe first number is greater than the floor function of the maximumnumber of CBGs divided by two: the NIV is equal to a sum of: a productof a second number and the maximum number of CBGs, the second numberequal to the maximum number of CBGs minus the length of contiguous CBGsplus one, and a third number equal to the maximum number of CBGs minusone minus the starting CBG.
 11. The apparatus according to claim 6, theprocessing circuitry further configured to: determine the HARQ-ACKfeedback based on a tree structure based on an aggregation of contiguousCBGs with varied aggregation levels arranged in accordance with ahierarchy, wherein a parent node includes two children nodes; and encodethe HARQ-ACK feedback to include a node index of a smallest aggregationlevel of the tree structure.
 12. The apparatus according to claim 6, theprocessing circuitry further configured to: for a plurality of PDSCHsfor which the UE is to encode HARQ-ACK feedback, select a portion of theplurality of PDSCHs, the PDSCHs on multiple CCs; and encode the HARQ-ACKfeedback for the selected portion of the PDSCHs with a bit field indexedin order of increasing CC index, wherein a size of the bit field isequal to a ceiling function applied to a base-2 logarithm of a size ofthe plurality of PDSCHs.
 13. The apparatus according to claim 1,wherein: the apparatus further includes a transceiver to receive thePDCCH, and the processing circuitry includes a baseband processor todecode the PDCCH.
 14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumthat stores instructions for execution by one or more processors toperform operations for communication by a generation Node-B (gNB), theoperations to configure the one or more processors to: encode a physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH) that schedules a transmission of aphysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) by the gNB to a User Equipment(UE), the PDSCH scheduled in a slot of a plurality of slots, the PDSCHfurther scheduled on a component carrier (CC) of a plurality of CCs,wherein the PDCCH includes a downlink control information (DCI) thatincludes: a total downlink assignment index (DAI) for hybrid automaticrepeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback of the PDSCH, whereinthe total DAI indicates a total number of pairs of CCs and slots for theHARQ-ACK feedback, and a counter DAI based on an accumulative number ofother PDCCHs; and decode the HARQ-ACK feedback, wherein a bit of theHARQ-ACK feedback indicates whether the PDSCH is successfully decoded,wherein a position of the bit within the HARQ-ACK feedback is based onthe total DAI and the counter DAI.
 15. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium according to claim 14, wherein thetotal number of pairs of CCs and slots indicated by the total DAI is atotal number of pairs of CCs and slots that include: a PDSCH scheduledby another PDCCH, or a PDCCH that indicates a presence of a downlink(DL) semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) release.
 16. An apparatus of aUser Equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising: memory; and processingcircuitry, the processing circuitry configured to: decode controlsignaling that indicates a hybrid automatic repeat requestacknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback mode for a physical downlink sharedchannel (PDSCH) that is configurable to include one or more codewordsthat include one or more codeblock groups (CBGs), wherein the CBGs ofeach codeword are mapped to CBG indexes; attempt to decode the CBGsreceived in the PDSCH; if a first HARQ-ACK feedback mode is indicated bythe control signaling, encode HARQ-ACK feedback to include, for eachcodeword, an acknowledgement (ACK) indicator that indicates whether atleast one of the CBGs of the codeword is not successfully decoded; if asecond HARQ-ACK feedback mode is indicated by the control signaling,encode the HARQ-ACK feedback to include, for each CBG index, an ACKindicator that indicates whether at least one of the CBGs mapped to theCBG index is not successfully decoded; and if a third HARQ-ACK feedbackmode is indicated by the control signaling, encode the HARQ-ACK feedbackto include per-CBG ACK indicators, wherein if the first HARQ-ACKfeedback mode is indicated by the control signaling, the ACK indicatorof each codeword is based on a logical “and” operation applied toper-CBG ACK indicators of the CBGs of the codeword, wherein if thesecond HARQ-ACK feedback mode is indicated by the control signaling, theACK indicator for each CBG index is based on a logical “and” operationapplied to per-CBG ACK indicators of the CBGs mapped to the CBG index,and wherein the memory is configured to store information identifyingthe HARQ-ACK feedback mode indicated by the control signaling.
 17. Theapparatus according to claim 16, wherein: the codewords are mapped tocodeword indexes, the processing circuitry is further configured to, ifthe third HARQ-ACK feedback mode is indicated by the control signaling,encode the HARQ-ACK feedback to include the per-CBG ACK indicators inaccordance with: if the PDSCH includes one codeword, a concatenation ofthe per-CBG ACK indicators in an increasing order of the CBG indexes ofthe per-CBG ACK indicators, and if the PDSCH includes more than onecodeword: per-codeword concatenations of the per-CBG ACK indicators ofeach codeword in an increasing order of the CBG indexes of the per-CBGACK indicators, and a concatenation of the per-codeword concatenationsin an increasing order of the codeword indexes.
 18. The apparatusaccording to claim 16, wherein the control signaling includes a downlinkcontrol information (DCI) that indicates the HARQ-ACK feedback mode. 19.The apparatus according to claim 16, the processing circuitry furtherconfigured to: decode multiple PDCCHs that schedule multiple PDCCHs on aplurality of component carriers (CCs) of a carrier aggregation.